Ronaldinho Becomes Latest to Promote Solana Meme Token on Instagram

• Ronaldinho is the latest soccer star to promote Water Coin on Instagram, a Solana-based meme coin
• Earlier this week, soccer legend Lionel Messi promoted Water Coin on his Instagram Stories
• The price of Water Coin rose nearly 40% to $0.0012
• Water Coin claims it’s focusing on water-related issues and sustainable projects

Soccer legend Ronaldinho Gaúcho has become the latest to promote the Solana-based meme token Water Coin on his Instagram account.

On social media, the Brazilian retired soccer star posted a story to his 76.6 million followers showing a photo of him with the Water Coin’s mascot peering over his shoulder. It also tagged the project’s Instagram account.

Following Ronaldinho’s post, Water Coin’s price rose nearly 40% to $0.0012. The excitement didn’t last long, and at the time of publication, Water Coin’s price had levelled at around $0.00088, CoinMarketCap data shows.

Ronaldinho’s post follows that of another football legend, Lionel Messi.

Earlier this week, the Argentinian player promoted Water Coin on his Instagram Stories. Like Ronaldinho, Messi showed a picture of himself with the meme coin’s mascot peeking over his shoulder, along with tagging the project’s Instagram account.

Notably, one of the exchanges listing the Water token is Bitget, a company Messi has been partnered with since 2022.

Facing Criticism

According to its website, the charity token “aims to have a net-positive impact on [the] real world with the help of charity.” However, it doesn’t state how it will achieve this.

Despite the promotion from several well-known soccer players, some have met their posts with criticism.

Taking to X, analyst @ericonomics wrote of Messi that this was the “third token scam” that he’s promoted, adding “this time it’s Water. They will probably rug soon so make yourself a favour and don’t buy that sh*t.”

“The first one was Leafty, which was a rug (they removed the liquidity like 5 days later lol),” @ericonomics wrote. “The second one was PLANET, a slow rug that is like -90% since that promotion.”

Similarly, this isn’t the first time Ronaldinho has been connected with a controversial crypto project. Last August, he appeared before a Brazilian parliamentary committee inquiry over an alleged $61m crypto pyramid scheme that used his likeness without permission.

The scheme, “18kRonaldinho, used images of the soccer star in its marketing while promising investors a 2% daily return. During the inquiry, Ronaldinho denied any involvement, claiming he never partnered with the company.