The crypto neighborhood is condemning the emergence of tokens tied to 2 latest tragedies — the killing of US conservative activist Charlie Kirk and the stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska.
Critics have branded the strikes ‘immoral’ and ‘despicable,’ accusing creators of exploiting grief and public consideration for revenue.
How Human Loss Fueled Opportunistic Crypto Launches
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The launch of recent tokens following headline-making occasions is just not new within the crypto market. For instance, in late 2024, the PNUT meme coin was created amid public outcry over the euthanasia of a squirrel named Peanut.
Equally, Elon Musk’s reference to himself because the ‘Dogefather’ triggered a wave of Dogefather-themed token launches. Nonetheless, what units the most recent launches aside is their direct connection to main human tragedies.
Former US presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, in addition to a number of White Home officers, have since expressed condolences.
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his… pic.twitter.com/aM8Pz3TKml
— The White Home (@WhiteHouse) September 10, 2025
Individually, Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who escaped the conflict in her homeland, was stabbed to loss of life on August 22 on a prepare. Whereas these deaths have sparked nationwide grief and political debate, they’ve additionally fueled a wave of opportunistic token launches.
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Notably, a number of of those tokens skyrocketed in worth inside hours, climbing tens of 1000’s of %.
CHARLIE Token Launches. Supply: DexScreener
Equally, a number of ‘Justice for Iryna’ tokens additionally appeared in September. The token frenzy gained additional traction after Musk’s $1 million donation pledge. This triggered a number of tokens to pump.
Nonetheless, the most recent information confirmed that the meme cash crashed and had been within the crimson at press time, a sample usually related to pump-and-dump schemes or outright rug pulls.
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Crypto’s Moral Dilemma: Critics Slam ‘Justice Tokens’ as Scams
The token launches have additionally attracted main criticism from the market. In a put up on X (previously Twitter), Crypto Rug Muncher labeled most of those tokens as scams.
“Launching scam tokens to profit from someone’s death is despicable,” the put up learn.
The analyst revealed that the most important CHARLIE token (contract: CsKfV8ePhQWiyQxNJwXhKZHcmUyNWBkHFGrkZGdJpump) has already recorded substantial insider promoting. Moreover, GMGN additional flagged the creation of greater than 700 new wallets linked to the token — a sample generally related to synthetic bundling and different red-flag behaviors.
One other analyst estimated that the builders behind the CHARLIE and IRYNA tokens have already pocketed almost $2 million from the launches, questioning the morality of cashing in on tragedies on this means.
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“I believe it’s the same cabal that ran the IRYNA token trying to run CHARLIE rn. if you have any morals, stay away from trading it,” a market watcher added.
Nonetheless, posts on X replicate a divided sentiment. Some merchants defend shopping for the tokens as a method to honor Kirk and Zarutska.
“This is not just a coin – it’s a movement for justice. Every trade isn’t just speculation, it’s a way to support Iryna. The community is rallying, volume is surging, and many feel the mission deeply. Iryna may rest in peace, but her name lives on-chain,” Altcoin Vietnam acknowledged.
The rise of ‘justice tokens’ exposes one of the troublesome questions going through the crypto trade: the place the road lies between innovation, hypothesis, and humanity. For some, these tokens are framed as symbols of solidarity.
For others, they’re nothing greater than cynical makes an attempt to revenue from the grief surrounding the tragic deaths of Charlie Kirk and Iryna Zarutska. Till the trade reckons with this pressure, the controversy over morality in crypto will solely intensify.
