Key facts
- A meme coin called BONER has captured over half of the tokenized Hims & Hers Health shares on Robinhood Chain.
- This meme coin strategy briefly inflated the tokenized stock's price to $132.64.
- The actual HIMS stock price remained largely stable, trading around $29.
- Meme coin-stock pairings on Robinhood Chain recorded $217 million in trading volume on September 2.
- Other tokenized stocks, including Nvidia, MicroStrategy, Microsoft, and AMC, are also being paired with meme coins on the platform.
Meme coins are being paired with tokenized stocks on Robinhood's new blockchain network, generating significant trading volume and drawing attention to the platform. Over the August 30 weekend, a meme coin named BONER locked up more than half of the available tokenized Hims & Hers Health (HIMS) shares on Robinhood Chain. This maneuver briefly pushed the wrapped stock's price to $132.64, a substantial increase from HIMS's real-world closing price of $28.84 on the preceding Friday. The actual HIMS stock, however, experienced minimal price fluctuation.
This strategy, aiming for a short squeeze similar to the 2021 GameStop saga, involves locking up tokenized stocks within a meme coin's liquidity pool. Robinhood Chain, launched in July, allows developers to create meme coins that trade directly against tokenized assets instead of stablecoins. The limited supply of tokenized shares, fixed by Robinhood's minting partner, makes them susceptible to price manipulation with relatively small trading volumes, especially when traditional markets are closed.
While the BONER play's impact on the actual HIMS stock was negligible, the trend has expanded across Robinhood Chain. Other meme coins like Artificial Inu (paired with tokenized Nvidia), Saylormoon (MicroStrategy), and Clippy XP (Microsoft) are employing similar tactics. The MEME coin, linked to tokenized AMC stock, has seen the highest trading volume among these pairs. Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev has expressed support for these meme coin activities on his company's chain, stating it "works great for memes too." However, AMC CEO Adam Aron has strongly criticized Robinhood's practice of tokenizing AMC shares, deeming it "contemptible" and questioning its legality.