Editing Popcat

**Popcat** (ticker **POPCAT**) is a cat-themed [[Solana]] memecoin based on the Popcat meme of a cat opening its mouth into an "O".[^1][^2]

## Lore
The meme shows Oatmeal, a cat owned by Twitter user Xavier BFB. A friend posted the clip as a GIF to Reddit on 2020-10-09, and a Twitter repost the next day passed a million views.[^1] Three University of Sheffield students launched the clicker game popcat.click on 2020-12-11.[^1]

According to Know Your Meme, holders ousted the coin's original developer in December 2023 over an alleged plan to "rug" it, and X user jpeggler bought the token's update rights from the developer for $35,000 USDC.[^2]

POPCAT rose during 2024 as traders moved from dog coins such as [[Bonk]] and [[dogwifhat]] to cat coins. On 2024-10-29 it hit $1.80 with a market cap of $1.7 billion, passing BONK to become the second-largest Solana memecoin after WIF.[^3] In November 2024 it reached a record near $1.99 and a market cap of nearly $1.9 billion, up about 23,800% for the year.[^4]

## Timeline
- 2020-10-09: Oatmeal GIF posted to Reddit[^1]
- 2020-12-11: popcat.click launches[^1]
- 2023-12: holders replace the original developer[^2]
- 2024-10-29: all-time high of $1.80, market cap $1.7 billion; passes BONK[^3]
- 2024-11: new high near $1.99, market cap nearly $1.9 billion[^4]
- 2025-11-12: Hyperliquid pauses deposits and withdrawals after a POPCAT position wipes out[^5]

## Controversies
### Hyperliquid manipulation
On 2025-11-12, according to on-chain analyst MLMabc, a trader withdrew $3 million USDC from OKX, split it across 19 wallets and built a leveraged POPCAT long of about $30 million on [[Hyperliquid]], propped by about $20 million of buy orders near $0.21.[^5] When the buy wall was pulled the position was liquidated, the price fell further and Hyperliquid's HLP vault reportedly lost $4.9 million. Hyperliquid paused deposits and withdrawals and closed the position manually.[^5]

## See also
- [[cat in a dogs world]]
- [[Michi]]
- [[Just a chill guy]]
- [[Gigachad]]
- [[Fwog]]
- [[Ponke]]
- [[Silly Dragon]]
- [[Mumu]]

## References
1. [Popcat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popcat), Wikipedia
2. [Popcat SOL Meme Coin](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/popcat-sol-meme-coin), Know Your Meme
3. [POPCAT Hits All-Time High as Cat-Themed Memecoins Start to Have Their Day](https://unchainedcrypto.com/popcat-hits-all-time-high-as-cat-themed-memecoins-start-to-have-their-day/), Unchained, 2024-10-30
4. [Dogecoin Shot Up Over 300% In 2024 But Cat-Themed Popcat Is The Real Top Dog With 23800% Returns This Year](https://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/movers/24/11/41962112/dogecoin-shot-up-over-300-in-2024-but-cat-themed-popcat-is-the-real-top-dog-with-23800-retur), Benzinga, 2024-11
5. [Hyperliquid pauses deposits and withdrawals amid POPCAT trading scheme speculation](https://www.theblock.co/post/378606/hyperliquid-pauses-deposits-withdrawals-popcat-trading-scheme-speculation), The Block, 2025-11-12
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