13 WTF Moments of the 12 months: 2025 Crypto Version – Decrypt

The story of cryptocurrency’s rise to mainstream recognition is likely one of the most weird in historical past. Created by an nameless, shadowy determine named Satoshi Nakamoto—who’s now among the many richest individuals on the earth—the know-how is now a darling of finance bros, altruistic lefties, white supremacists, Balkan political dissidents, West African entrepreneurs, and Redditors satisfied that Satoshi was actually an alien.So it is hardly stunning that 2025 started with U.S. President Donald Trump launching a meme coin simply days earlier than his inauguration. And it solely received weirder from there, from school children betting on whose sperm was the quickest to betting on which aggressive dancer can twerk the toughest.Let’s increase our glasses and pour one out for the 13 largest WTF moments of this surreal 12 months in crypto.1. Literal shit coinsCrypto devs can pay you for something as of late, even your poop.In August, a brand new app appeared that paid customers in Solana-based POOP tokens in alternate for footage of their bowel actions. The ostensible thought was that by documenting peoples’ caca, the app would be capable of present actionable insights and recommendation on the right way to enhance their intestine well being.After all, since that is crypto, the app needed to earn cash, and its alleged objective was to promote your knowledge to analysis establishments, insurance coverage companies, or well being complement corporations. The app hoped that it may amass the biggest and most detailed fecal dataset on the earth, which may assist push ahead the subsequent section of crap science.2. A token dinnerPresident Donald Trump launching a meme coin would've been sufficient to make this listing. Trump then internet hosting a dinner for the highest holders of that meme coin would've additionally made the reduce. However somebody creating one other meme coin impressed by that dinner? OK, positive, why not? An nameless attendee of the Trump meme coin dinner created a Solana meme coin from his telephone, and shared movies from contained in the unique occasion on Telegram. In that chat, the meme coin creator confirmed Trump dancing to the well-known homosexual anthem “YCMA,” Justin Solar posing for a photograph, and, in fact, the meals.Sadly, the DINNER token failed to realize a lot traction. It topped at a measly $450,000 market capitalization earlier than it crashed and burned, turning into one of many tens of millions of meme cash that turned one more canine’s dinner.3. A token to your twerksA dude from California created a crypto-fueled aggressive twerking competitors.Viewers may vote by sending presents that have been purchasable through crypto, in addition to wager through a crypto sportsbook. Although the preliminary heats have been extra like recognition contests than sporting occasions, the founding father of Twerk From House mentioned his objective is to make the competition a official sports activities league akin to the UFC.Congratulations to dancer Laura Cintron, who gained the competitors and took residence a $10,000 money prize.4. Chill Home not so chillAbsurdist Pump.fun-created meme coin Chill Home went on a rampage throughout social media, cussing out the entire largest founders and influencers within the area in October—which in some way managed to pump the token.The X account tagged Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko, outstanding Solana builder Mert Mumtaz, in addition to Coinbase government and Base community head Jesse Pollak, simply to say “fuck you” and mock their initiatives.Biting the hand that made the pumping enjoyable attainable, Chill Home even known as Pump.enjoyable co-founder Alon Cohen a “cuck.” Naturally, some took the bait, together with Pollak, who sparred with the account—whereas others, together with Buterin, ignored the troll.5. The Jack Off 500Two school college students supplied “samples” of their sperm, which have been then raced in opposition to one another in what is likely one of the most viral and disgusting moments of the 12 months. It virtually goes with out saying that individuals may gamble on the race through a crypto sportsbook.Clearly not bizarre sufficient, the occasion was so successful {that a} second Sperm Racing occasion was sponsored by main blockchain Solana, with high livestream influencer iShowSpeed in attendance.However was the spunk junk? It seems that the race that was broadcast was truly a dramatic computer-generated visualization, not the precise hundreds. Which, come to consider it, was in all probability for the perfect.6. Dumpster diving for {dollars}
For over 12 years, I attempted all the pieces to have interaction with Newport Metropolis Council:
•Public Proposals•Percentages•Mediation•Authorized motion•AND a proper £25M+ supply
$1 Billion and so they ignored all of it.
No response. No logic. No management.
They need me to surrender, however pic.twitter.com/z9IWrurojD
— James Howells (@howelzy) August 4, 2025James Howells took one of many largest losses of the 12 months when his native Welsh council rejected his bid to purchase a landfill for $3 million at the start of the 12 months. Why did he need to take the dump? Nicely, 12 years in the past, his then-girlfriend, now very a lot his ex-girlfriend, threw away his laborious drive containing a crypto pockets with 8,000 Bitcoin in it—value over $774 million on the time of the council’s rejection.In April, Los Angeles-based manufacturing firm Lebul purchased unique rights to inform his story through a documentary. And because the summer season got here to an finish, Howells stop his decade-long pursuit of recovering the laborious drive.Now he’s attempting to launch a Bitcoin layer-2 community that will be backed by his authorized possession of the funds, regardless of not gaining access to them. Is it loopy sufficient to work? Something is feasible in crypto.7. Getting Buzz and influencing peopleA little-known X person often known as Buzzlamic Jihad helped pump the worth of Aptos in February, after months of spamming Aptos-related memes. His catchphrases “Aptos trying good right here,” “movement not priced in but,” and “sidelined?” shortly turned main crypto memes this 12 months.Because the influencer was a mascot for the community, Aptos determined to carry him onboard as an official advisor. It seems that Buzz was all the time greater than only a shitposter. He informed Decrypt that he had a development advertising and marketing enterprise, specializing in Fb promoting, and claimed to have made tens of millions within the enterprise. The cherry on high is that his mentors throughout this era have been none aside from Chase Herro and Zak Folkman, who went on to co-found the Trump-backed World Liberty Monetary.8. You can also create a treasuryAmid the digital asset treasury development—or bubble, relying on who you ask—a lingerie combined preventing league created its personal crypto treasury. It began with $2.23 million value of Bitcoin; later roughly $65,000 value of Dogecoin was added to the coffers.“Is it leaping on a development a little bit bit? After all,” Shaun Donnelly, founder and CEO of Lingerie Combating Championships, informed Decrypt, including that  “we have to get within the recreation now whereas we nonetheless can, as a result of if a number of the projections come true, there may be a degree the place you simply cannot get into the market anymore.”9. Lone Star cops lasso a Bitcoin ATMTexas regulation enforcement used energy instruments to crack open a Bitcoin ATM to get better $32,000 after a neighborhood household mentioned they have been scammed out of funds. Yeah, you learn that proper: The household was tricked into paying some hackers $32K, however as an alternative of attempting to determine who the precise thieves have been, the cops smashed open a BTC ATM, grabbed the funds, and repaid the victims. Bitcoin Depot, the proprietor of the ATM, mentioned that the “rogue regulation enforcement officers” have been simply “creating one other sufferer” by damaging the corporate’s property and taking their cash. Weirdly, the lengthy arm of the regulation has been making comparable strikes in Arkansas, Iowa and elsewhere, apparently believing that by facilitating the transactions, Bitcoin Depot is liable. The courts, nonetheless, disagree. 10. Melania bologniaMove over, Donald. To not be outdone by her husband, in January U.S. First Woman Melania Trump launched her personal meme coin. However in a twist, her enterprise spiraled right into a authorized and technical farce involving Argentine President Javier Milei, a class-action lawsuit, and a million-dollar “oopsie.”The drama started when Melania’s token was swept right into a large fraud and racketeering lawsuit filed in April (and amended in October). Buyers claimed Meteora co-founder Benjamin Chow was secretly puppeteering a “constellation of rip-off tokens,” utilizing high-profile figures like Melania and Milei as bait to lure in patrons.Issues received weirder nonetheless in October. Simply days after the lawsuit accused Chow of working a “pump-and-dump” scheme, his personal platform, Meteora, unintentionally airdropped $1.2 million value of tokens on to the wallets on the coronary heart of the scandal.11. BOOM headshotHas crypto discovered its lesson to not play with fireworks? Apparently not.Controversial British content material creator Sam Pepper fired a Roman candle-style firework right into a crowd in the course of the Diwali competition in New Delhi, India. “HEADSHOT,” somebody screamed from behind the digicam, as a younger woman was apparently hit straight within the eye and was rushed to the hospital.Pepper claimed to have despatched somebody with the sufferer to the hospital to pay for her hospital charges, though journey YouTuber Raj Chauhan claims the household hasn’t seen any of that cash.12. Dogwifhat, however not wif SpherePopular Solana meme coin Dogwifhat confirmed, retracted, after which implied that it was going to be marketed on the Las Vegas Sphere through social media, prompting the token to leap double digits in a single day. “Formally confirmed. Viva hat Vegas,” a now-deleted X publish learn, accompanied by a photograph of the mascot carrying the Sphere as a hat.However after Decrypt wrote in regards to the publish, Sphere PR reached out to say that, truly, there was no deal to promote Dogwifhat on the Sphere. Certainly, the venue's crew was “distressed” the meme coin was utilizing its identify for “fraudulent functions.”The Dogwifhat crew shortly retreated from their place and refunded everybody who had helped increase $700,000 for the hopeful promoting marketing campaign.13. Yu gotta be kiddingJeff Yu, the creator of an AI musician, faked his demise and created a supposedly posthumous legacy coin, or legacoin, accompanied by a prolonged weblog publish. The token soared to a $105 million market cap earlier than it crashed 87% in simply an hour.Simply days later, Yu was discovered alive at his dad and mom' home.Every day Debrief NewsletterStart daily with the highest information tales proper now, plus unique options, a podcast, movies and extra.