Outrage mounts as Dogwifhat influencers sit on $700,000 meant for Las Vegas Sphere stunt

Early last year, a group of five crypto influencers raised $650,000 for the ultimate crypto marketing stunt: putting the image of roaring Solana memecoin Dogwifhat on the 366-foot-tall Las Vegas Sphere.

But 10 months after the group reached its goal, it still hasn’t happened.

With the Shiba-Inu-themed memecoin trading at its lowest level in months, onlookers are questioning if the campaign’s organisers still plan to follow through.

Two of the five people who control the raised funds confirmed to DL News the group still intended to spend the money to put the Dogwifhat mascot on the Sphere.

“We are grateful to our community members and want to execute in a way that is the most impactful,” Mihir, who is one of five people who control the funds, told DL News.

“Timing is important,” Mihir said when asked why the group still hadn’t organised the stunt.

“Expect an announcement soon,” Edward, another of the five group members, told DL News.

DL News could not independently verify the veracity of these plans.

Zion Thomas, known in crypto circles by his online handle Ansem, along with the two other Wif on Sphere campaign organisers, could not be reached for comment.

Thomas’ last post about the Wif on Sphere campaign was over five months ago, joking about the campaign failing to carry out its promise of putting the Dogwifhat mascot on the Sphere.

The Dogwifhat saga

Dogwifhat, a memecoin based on a picture of a dog wearing a pink crocheted hat, launched on the Solana blockchain in November 2023. It quickly went viral, hitting a $1 billion market value just 81 days after launch — the second-fastest crypto token to do so behind PEPE.

In January, five crypto influencers led by Thomas launched the Wif of Sphere campaign asking the public to donate funds to them. It wasn’t until March that the group raised enough money to pay the $650,000 fee to advertise on the Sphere for a week.

Soon after, the WIF token hit an all-time high of $4.83, giving it a market valuation of over $4.5 billion.

But in the weeks after the campaign surpassed its target, updates on when Dogwifhat would appear on the Sphere slowed down.

Now, almost a year on, Thomas and his four collaborators have yet to provide any documentation that they’ve been in touch with the Sphere’s marketing team.

The Solana wallet the group used to collect donations hasn’t been touched, and now contains almost $700,000.

Hype no more?

Many onlookers have questioned why it has taken so long to organise the Dogwifhat Sphere ad.

The stunt may not have the same impact that it would have had if it had been carried out when the funds were initially raised.

Mihir said it’s “objectively not true” that the hype surrounding WIF had died down since March.

“I interpret hype as a long-term thing,” he said, citing recent listings of WIF by Coinbase and Robinhood as examples that investors were still enthusiastic about the memecoin.

In November, Coinbase added WIF to its listing roadmap before opening it for trading days later. Later that month, Robinhood also listed the memecoin for trading.

However, Dogwifhat’s price tells a different story.

It’s 70% down from its March all-time high.

Tim Craig is DL News’ Edinburgh-based DeFi Correspondent. Reach out with tips at tim@dlnews.com.