- TROLL coin secured an unique licensing take care of Trollface creator Carlos Ramirez, paying a six-figure sum plus 11% royalties on merch.
- The settlement strengthens TROLL’s model legitimacy, defending it from copycats and bettering probabilities of large alternate listings.
- Regardless of volatility, TROLL hit a $283M market cap in August, with 44K+ holders, and now carries official IP backing.
The Solana-based meme coin TROLL simply scored an enormous win by locking down the rights to one of many web’s most legendary memes—Trollface. The venture’s neighborhood takeover workforce, Troll Community Restricted, signed a six-figure copyright license with Carlos Ramirez, the unique artist behind the long-lasting MS Paint grin.
The settlement is worldwide and unique to the crypto and meme coin world, although Ramirez stored a carve-out for one older coin he had beforehand been concerned with. As a part of the deal, Ramirez will pocket an 11% royalty charge on any TROLL-branded merchandise that launches sooner or later.
“This isn’t simply one other meme coin anymore,” mentioned Seal, the pseudonymous lead of the TROLL takeover workforce. “You’re actually proudly owning a chunk of web historical past right here. Trollface is what turned memes into tradition—and now it’s tokenized.”
Trollface’s Web Legacy
In case you have been on-line within the late 2000s, you recognize Trollface. Drawn in 2008 by Oakland-based Ramirez, the lopsided smile grew to become the go-to image for trolling and on-line pranks. By 2011, Ramirez had copyrighted it, later cashing in by way of t-shirts, licensing charges, and even settlements. At one level, the meme pulled in $10K–$15K each few months simply off Scorching Matter merch.
Over 4 years, Ramirez mentioned Trollface earned him about $100,000. The brand new TROLL coin settlement already exceeds that quantity—one other reminder of how memes by no means actually die, they only evolve.
Why IP Offers Matter for Meme Cash
Meme coin tasks have had a tough historical past with mental property. From Shark Cat to Keyboard Cat, authorized threats have loomed each time creators didn’t get a minimize. Ariel Givner, authorized counsel on the TROLL deal, defined why this one issues:
“Locking down the license protects the model, retains out copycats, and offers exchanges confidence that the venture is legit,” she mentioned.
It’s a lesson different groups have realized the arduous method. The Shark Cat token, for instance, confronted lawsuits from the cat’s proprietor till either side struck an analogous licensing deal. With out IP rights secured, large exchanges and traders have a tendency to remain away.
TROLL’s Market Journey
The TROLL coin itself has been unstable, like most memecoins. It hit a market cap of $41 million in April, dropped to $16 million, then exploded 1,600% in August to a $283 million peak—earlier than cooling again to $159 million with over 44,000 holders. Ramirez hasn’t endorsed the venture outright (he even launched his personal tiny Trollcoin), however the licensing deal means his artwork is formally tied to TROLL’s model.
Seal, who led negotiations, admitted Ramirez initially rejected a $50,000 supply earlier than selecting the six-figure deal. The funding got here from ten TROLL whales pooling Solana, and inside weeks the contract was signed.
Requested what’s subsequent, Seal stored it imprecise: “There’s loads coming… however let’s go away that to hypothesis and surprises.”
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