Former porn star Yua Mikami launches meme coin
As regular readers will know, we have a strong interest in the afterlives of music idols, gravure models, and porn stars.
The situation is particularly tough for the latter, who face discrimination and criticism if they go public with personal details like pregnancy or attempt to branch out into more “respectable” professions.
The former adult video star Yua Mikami had one of the most successful careers among performers of her generation. She already reinvented herself once, graduating from a career as a music idol in SKE48 to JAV, where she known by her birth name, Momona Kito.
Since leaving the industry, the 31-year-old has been in the news for dating two male singers possibly at the same time and for speaking out against online trolls who have targeted her for fronting a fashion brand.
She now focuses on her YouTuber career and also runs her own apparel brand called MISTREASS, which features her own modeling very prominently to capitalize on her fame and looks. Mikami no doubt had her savvy eye on the future early on, since she launched her apparel brand years before her retirement from porn.
With millions of followers on social media, Mikami is now hoping to cash in on the celebrity coin boom too. She launched a crypto token on April 30, with a debut sale running until May 3.
Mikami Coin is a Solana blockchain and was announced only the day before its launch. (Unlike a cryptocurrency, crypto tokens operate on an existing blockchain market.) The pre-sale concluded with 23,000 SOL, about $3.4 million at the time. The coin then went live on May 8.
Such celebrity coins have been criticized as bad investments if not outright scams, since they have no intrinsic value. Much like meme coins (based on memes), the tokens have social value for fans and tend to launch with high market capitalizations that then drop steeply. Some celebrities have been accused of participating in pump-and-dump schemes to make a quick buck.
Mikami Coin ($Mikami) has experienced a similar trajectory, collapsing 80% in value shortly after the launch, leaving pre-sale investors with heavy losses, and initial reports suggest the token distribution has not been smooth sailing.
It is meant to be part of a multi-phase, long-term project that will also include the launch of the official “Mikami’s Shrine,” new communities on X and other platforms, opportunities for fans to interact and get swag, a Mikami Coin burn event, online concerns, fan events, and a Mikami DAO.
It is unclear how far Mikami is involved herself or whether she has just sold the rights to her name to a crypto entrepreneur, though the official website clarifies that she owns 50% of the 69 million tokens until 2069.
The official website also has a disclaimer that suggests that this is a project focused exclusively on her foreign fans.
$Mikami are intended to function as an expression of support for, and engagement with, the ideals and beliefs embodied by the symbol “$MIKAMI” and the associated artwork, and are not intended to be, or to be the subject of, an investment opportunity, investment contract, or security of any type.
“MIKAMI” is a registered trademark of Mikami Yua Fans Operations Ltd. This product is created in collaboration with Yua Mikami and her official management company. Mikami Digital Collectibles LLC uses the “MIKAMI” name and the name, image and likeness of Yua Mikami pursuant to the terms of an official partnership agreement with Yua Mikami and her management team.
Disclaimer: This coin and project are not intended to market to or make sales to the Japanese market or Japanese users. We explicitly reject any sales to Japanese users and market participants.
Mikami has previous here: in 2021, she launched “your NFT,” a project to sell 28 NFTs made with an art director and fashion photographer.
