Ben Askren and the FUNKY memecoin fallout. The token collapsed within hours and is linked to serial memecoin promoter Sahil Arora. This isn’t Arora’s first memecoin backed by celebrities – past campaigns have featured Caitlyn Jenner, Jason Derulo, and Rich the Kid. But in Askren’s case, the story comes with its context – let’s take a closer look.
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Ben Askren Promotes FUNKY
Former Bellator champion and ex-UFC fighter Ben Askren posted on X on July 23, 2025, calling on his followers to invest $100 in SOL or USDC via a personalized link. The link led to the landing page of the FUNKY token – a memecoin on Solana.
The token was launched as part of a paid integration involving Sahil Arora, the creator of previous celebrity-backed memecoins. Arora provided Askren with posting instructions and confirmed payment via wire transfer.
But there is a problem – within 24 hours of Askren’s post, the token contract was drained by its deployer through a single transaction, during which all liquidity was withdrawn for approximately $1,200. FUNKY reached a peak market capitalization of $29,000 before the token lost all activity on DEX.
And another problem, directly related to Ben Askren’s involvement, is that the original X post remains online. This does not appear to be accidental, since previous Arora cases involved post-deletions within a few hours with statements citing hacks or mistakes.
Memecoin Funding Amid Severe Health Condition
Ben Askren underwent a double lung transplant and recently stated that he was in critical condition four times between May and June. Askren claimed to have no memory of several weeks and that his insurance refused to cover treatment, including the transplant. These statements attracted attention from the MMA community and triggered a wave of donations from fighters and organizations.
What About Arora?
According to Arora, this was the intended purpose of the token fundraising. However, the memecoin initiator stated that in the case of FUNKY, he incurred losses, as the token failed to gain expected popularity and did not generate the anticipated revenue. This is the first time Arora has publicly declared a financial failure of his scheme.
More broadly, Sahil Arora is known as the initiator of a series of meme coin campaigns involving celebrities. According to him, he negotiated directly with celebrity representatives, transferred advances, and sent exact instructions for the post content. In several cases, it was claimed post-factum that the celebrity was unaware they were promoting a crypto asset.
In particular, the Jenner token reached a market capitalization of $22.4 million on the first day and $42 million on the second, before also disappearing from the market.
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Be Aware
Not all memecoins deserve attention – that is a known fact. And if this is your first time hearing that, it is worth remembering. Even celebrity involvement provides no guarantees of reliability or success. Be cautious, and stay tuned for the latest updates in crypto, blockchain, and DeFi.
