In the market for Solana meme coins, volatility is often seen, and mere survival is rare. Nevertheless, The White Whale (WHITEWHALE), a token born on the Pump.fun launchpad at the end of 2025, has exceeded expectations.
WHITEWHALE has endured intense selling pressure, accusations of rug pulls, and ongoing scrutiny from both traders and analysts.
The wild price fluctuations of WHITEWHALE and the origin of its meme story
As of this writing, WHITEWHALE is trading at a price of $0.089. CoinGecko shows that the market cap is $89.6 million.
The broader crypto market is declining, but the White Whale token still produced a 180% return in two weeks. This reflects the extremity of its price fluctuations.
The WHITEWHALE meme coin was launched in October 2025, inspired by the X (Twitter) character @TheWhiteWhaleV2, a well-known perpetual trader remembered especially for a 80 million dollar liquidation.
The token had no roadmap, promised use case, or known founder, just a meme story and an almost one billion fixed supply, as described in early community posts on Medium.
To protect @TheWhiteWhaleV2's reputation, he intervened. In December, he bought tokens, added liquidity, and helped organize a community takeover (CTO).
Pump.fun payments were redirected back to the holders, and cash events were made public – an unusual solution among Solana meme coins.
Who ultimately controls the treasury of WHITEWHALE today?
‘Me. Here’s the whole idea. A token that bears my name is my responsibility. DAOs and other structures often create this illusion of democracy in the field that rarely comes to fruition. You trust that Jeff takes care of HyperLiquid well. You trust that The White Whale manages its named token responsibly,’ The White Whale told BeInCrypto.
Early participants were generously rewarded; according to some reports, traders turned a few hundred dollars into over a million dollars.
However, the same trader, Remus on X, lost almost all his profits just a week later, having withdrawn only 220,000 dollars.
‘This trader is down 1 million dollars on WHITEWHALE this week. Remus was up 1.5 million dollars last week. Unfortunately, he only withdrew 220,000 dollars when the price collapsed by -80%. He is now only 464,000 dollars in profit. Will Remus recover his losses, or is it time to move on to the next coin? Arkham reports.’
How the revenge of private investors drove WHITEWHALE straight up.
Sentiment exploded in early January 2026. From a December low of 0.0082 dollars, the price of WHITEWHALE surged nearly 930%, and the price briefly tested 0.20 dollars according to CoinGecko.
The market cap exceeded 200 million dollars, making it one of the most successful Pump.fun releases in months, according to Messari.
Listings on exchanges like Bybit, MEXC, KuCoin, and LBank boosted trading volumes to as much as 48 million dollars in 24 hours.
On X, traders described WHITEWHALE as 'the revenge of private investors,' a cultural counter-strike against bots, snipers, and insider meme launches.
A collapse occurred afterward.
Rug or liquidity event? The background of Whitewhale's collapse on January 20.
On January 20, 2026, one of the largest holders sold tokens worth about 1.3 million dollars, causing the price to drop rapidly by 60%.
Market cap estimates dropped from about 200 million dollars to 20–40 million dollars. Claims of a rug pull spread on social media.
Although headlines labeled the event a rug pull, chain analysts used the Bubblemaps service and traced the sale to one large wallet that was separate from Remus.
The team responded to the allegations, calling the event a 'liquidity event' rather than an exit scam, but trust had already wavered.
‘…our largest private holder sold off most of their position… and we did not participate in the sales, although we did some buybacks… The change occurred in the distribution. One large private position no longer sits atop the market. The supply is now distributed among a wider group of owners. This was not a treasury-driven event. This was not a deviation from our stated principles. It was a liquidity event,' wrote The White Whale.
BeInCrypto asked The White Whale why such a large concentration had persisted despite the project's narrative being anti-whale thinking. He stated that the project adheres to the core values of cryptocurrency: an unobstructed economy. He emphasized that traders should be free to operate as they wish.
‘It should be noted that I did not launch this token myself. If I had launched it, I would not have used any launchpad because I don’t believe that any of the current launchpads would have provided the right token supply/liquidity structure to protect investors from such situations. We are naturally trying to talk to as many of our large holders as possible, offering OTC deals to reduce market impact, etc., but people have the right to act as they wish.’
More importantly, The White Whale denied allegations that the sale of one wallet caused the entire collapse. According to him, it triggered panic selling.
Returns accelerate from lock-ups, but control remains in the shadows.
Despite expectations, the WHITEWHALE price rebounded. In a few days, over 70% daily increases were seen, and the market cap returned close to 80–90 million dollars.
The treasury locked 40 million tokens for a year, which reduced the circulating supply and signaled a commitment to the long term. Community members on X confirmed this publicly.
‘This significantly reduces supply, removes treasury selling pressure, and demonstrates a commitment to long-term thinking – no short-term dumps are expected. Credible projects do this to build trust; such discipline quickly creates a positive atmosphere,’ one user noted.
According to Rootsdata, there are indications that the treasury and associated wallets control a significant portion – over 50% of the total supply.
This focus is seen as dual-sided: supporters consider it a protection against large-scale dumps, but critics warn that it exposes the token to sudden collapse.
The risks cannot be denied. The WHITEWHALE token has no other use than the narrative, and over 60% price fluctuations are common. Most traders still expect a decline, as most Solana meme coins ultimately fail. The White Whale itself remains hopeful that the project can set good standards for future tokens.
‘I believe the core idea of memes is that they do not try to present themselves as anything other than what they are. Many projects fail because they try to present more than they are. We are what we are, and we are proud of it. The primary goal of the $WhiteWhale movement is to demonstrate that success can be achieved while maintaining integrity. My personal goal is to set the bar so high that meme coin investors start demanding similar transparency, diligence, dedication, and honesty from all developers.’
Yet survival is what matters. In an ecosystem where many tokens disappear overnight, WHITEWHALE's ability to recover and its transparent treasury actions set it apart from others.
However, the risks are significant, as the price is driven more by massive holders, narrative, and sentiment than by fundamentals.
RiskDetailed informationImpact levelWhale concentration54% in one addressHigh – Potential for massive dumpsVolatilityOver 60% fluctuations weeklyExtreme – Private investor losses commonRug historyJanuary 20 'liquidity event.'Medium – FUD continues, but survivedNo useOnly based on narrativeHigh – Based on hype cyclesCommunity powerTransparent locks, redistributionsRestraining – Builds loyalty.
WHITEWHALE meme coin risk analysis.
The WHITEWHALE token does not seem to be a scam, supported by its trading on major exchanges. It also appears with the right volume and has an active, dedicated community, as stated in the exchanges' documentation.
As a final comment, BeInCrypto asked The White Whale what might happen to the token if he decided to withdraw.
‘Ironically, if I were to get hit by a bus, it would probably be very bullish in terms of price movements. However, the project bears my name, so it's impossible to even think about withdrawing.’