Wallet Tied to US Crypto Theft Launches Solana Meme Coin — Plunges 97% Overnight
A Solana-based meme coin launched by a pockets linked by blockchain investigators to an alleged theft of U.S. government-controlled crypto belongings has collapsed virtually totally inside hours of buying and selling.
The token, named John Daghita and buying and selling below the ticker LICK, was created on the Pump.enjoyable launchpad and briefly surged to a market capitalization of roughly $915,000 earlier than falling greater than 97% in a single day.
Onchain knowledge shows the token later dropped beneath $25,000 in market worth, with present figures inserting it close to $27,700 after a steep 24-hour decline.
Trading exercise signifies that the deployer pockets gathered tokens early whereas the market capitalization was nonetheless beneath $21,000, making 4 purchases earlier than the sharp rally and subsequent collapse.
Bubblemaps Finds Concentrated Supply in LICK Token Debut
Further scrutiny got here from blockchain analytics agency Bubblemaps, which reported that the deployer of LICK held roughly 40% of the overall token provide at launch.
Such focus is broadly considered by analysts as a warning signal, because it permits insiders to exert outsized management over worth motion and liquidity.
Bubblemaps claimed that the identical particular person tied to the alleged theft managed the deployer pockets and a big share of the availability in the course of the token’s launch part.
The launch attracted consideration after blockchain investigator ZachXBT said the wallet associated with the token deployer was connected to tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars} in crypto allegedly tied to U.S. government-seized belongings.
@ZachXBT alleges a crypto theft from US authorities wallets is linked to the son of a federal crypto custody contractor’s CEO.#Hack #Cryptohttps://t.co/5G1BLSmHCn
— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) January 26, 2026
In an X publish on Jan. 23, ZachXBT claimed the person behind the web alias “John Daghita,” also called “Lick,” had displayed management over wallets holding roughly $23 million throughout a recorded dispute with one other actor in a Telegram group.
Public data present that Command Services & Support, a Virginia-based agency whose president is Dean Daghita, received a U.S. Marshals Service contract in October 2024 to help with the custody and disposal of sure digital belongings seized by the federal government.
ZachXBT alleged that John Daghita, the president’s son, gained unauthorized entry to wallets related to these holdings.
The allegations haven’t been examined in courtroom, and no legal prices have been introduced.
Meme Coin Chaos Deepens Across Solana’s Pump.enjoyable Ecosystem
The incident has additionally drawn consideration from policymakers, as Patrick Witt, director of the White House Crypto Council, said in a publish on X that he was reviewing the claims following ZachXBT’s disclosures.
According to BitcoinTreasuries.NET, U.S. authorities might control greater than 328,000 Bitcoin by means of numerous seizures, together with belongings from the Bitfinex case, doubtlessly value round $30 billion at present costs.
Beyond the precise allegations, the LICK collapse suits right into a broader sample inside Solana’s meme coin ecosystem.
Data from early 2025 suggests that greater than 98% of tokens launched on Pump.enjoyable exhibit traits related to rug pulls or fast pump-and-dump schemes.
Analysts estimate that solely a tiny fraction of the thousands and thousands of tokens created on the platform ever attain even modest liquidity ranges, whereas the common lifespan of many tokens has dropped to lower than 25 minutes earlier than abandonment or sharp declines.
Recent instances have bolstered these issues, as in December, Solana-based AI token AVA fell more than 96% after onchain evaluation confirmed roughly 40% of its provide had been gathered by wallets linked to the deployer at launch.
In January, the WhiteWhale memecoin briefly lost around 60% of its market worth inside minutes after a big holder bought a good portion of the availability, an occasion broadly described by merchants as a rug pull regardless of later partial restoration.
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