John McAfee’s widow, Janice Elizabeth McAfee, has allegedly launched a memecoin in her late husband’s honor as the memecoin frenzy, galvanized by US President Donald Trump’s weekend token launch, continues to grow.
McAfee announced the token launch through her late husband’s X account on Jan. 23, writing, “You didn’t think I’d miss this cycle, did you?” During his life, McAfee was an ardent supporter of cryptocurrency, particularly Bitcoin (BTC), and its ability to reduce state power over the financial system.
Initial reactions from the crypto community on X were positive, but later analysis revealed that 90% of the token’s 100 million supply had already been distributed to hundreds of different wallets, with just a small amount sent to two trading pools.
Some were not sold on the revival of John McAfee’s account — or the memecoin at all. Notably, Charles Hoskinson, creator of the Cardano blockchain, reacted with sarcasm to the launch post on X: “John being resurrected as a dubious AI crypto scam [is] the most John McAfee thing possible.”
Source: Charles Hoskinson
The token’s website describes its lore, saying that “in a world overrun by surveillance states, corporate greed and digital enslavement, the AIntivirus is the ultimate disrupter.” The project references the John McAfee AI Incarnate, claiming AI is “built to defend digital freedom and carry on [McAfee’s] mission. It’s not just protection — It’s retaliation.”
According to the Cointelegraph index, the AIntivirus token (AINTI) is up 2,260% since launch.
Vine co-founder also launches memecoin; traders see big gains
Vine co-founder Rus Yusupov also launched a memecoin on Jan. 23, aptly titling it Vinecoin (VINE) and capitalizing on speculation that the shuttered app will relaunch on X. Yusupov made the announcement through his official X account:
“Remembering all the fun we had building vine — Let’s relive the magic and DO IT FOR THE VINECOIN.”
According to the Cointelegraph index, VINE is the top memecoin gainer of the day, rising 181,000% in less than 24 hours. It has caught the attention of the crypto community, and some traders have scored big. For instance, one trader notched an unrealized profit of $4.5 million — even after missing the first big rally.
Vine was shuttered in 2017 after its parent company, Twitter, could not find a way to monetize it. After Elon Musk bought Twitter in 2022, he has publicly weighed bringing back Vine and its six-second, looping videos that once made the app one of the most popular in the world.
Another Vine co-founder, Dom Hoffman, distanced himself from the memecoin, writing on X, “I’m not involved and will never be involved with any meme coin.”
President Trump puts focus on memecoins
US President Donald Trump launched his memecoin on Jan. 17, putting the spotlight on these speculation-driven crypto assets. After his memecoin, Official Trump (TRUMP), soared into the top 30 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, many were left wondering if this signaled a new era in crypto — one where anyone could launch a memecoin without any consequences.
As Cointelegraph reported, the TRUMP memecoin pushed Solana addresses to new all-time highs, and other reports have stated that Solana decentralized exchange activity reached record levels. Coinbase had a backlog of Solana transactions, and major players in the Solana ecosystem struggled with the traffic.
However, lawyers expect the memecoins might be sued, and Maxine Waters, a US lawmaker representing California, said the Trump memecoin poses a risk to national security and opens the door to corruption.
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