As so-called “memecoins” capture the attention of the wider crypto industry in recent weeks, a viral video has emerged detailing just how easy it is for anyone with an internet connection to create a brand new cryptocurrency from scratch.
A May 6 video from digital artist Johnny Shankman — who goes by @whitelights.eth on Twitter — shows him completing a “speedrun” of creating and deploying an entirely new token, humorously dubbed “EASY_MONEY” in just 27 seconds. The record was then beaten just a day later, clocking in at 22.45 seconds.
The term "speed run" originates from the gaming community and is typically used in reference to completing a game, or level in a game, as quickly as possible.
In the now-viral video, Shankman shows how any user can quickly create a new token by utilizing a program called Contracts Wizard, created by the crypto cybersecurity firm OpenZeppelin. The Contacts Wizard tool generates code for an ERC-20 token with a few quick clicks of a cursor. On the program, users can select a number of potential features for their token.
After the code has been created, Shankman then uses an application called Remix, which compiles the token’s smart contract and deploys it on a given blockchain network. In the video, Shankman opts for deploying his EASY_MONEY (EZ) token on the Ethereum testnet.
He notes in the comments section that the video was “for educational purposes only” and clarifies that by deploying EASY_MONEY on the Ethereum testnet, it is not a real token to be speculated on.
Notably, Shankman’s video was picked up by a number of large accounts on Crypto Twitter, being reposted by the likes of @Loopifyyy, which has now seen the video gain more than 3 million views across a series of different accounts.
The viral popularity of Shankman’s post comes at a time where “shitcoins'' have gained drastically in popularity throughout the broader crypto ecosystem. The recent memecoin boom, has been led in large part by an “entirely useless” frog-themed token called Pepe, which has seen its value surge more than 5000% since its inception on April 14.
In a follow-up comment, Shankman pointed out that someone had actually created a token with the same name as his explainer but divulged that he “did not make it” and he would “not be buying it.”
Less than 24 hours later, a new video emerged from another account on Twitter, that showed the same process being completed in just 22.45 seconds, setting a new unofficial record for the memecoin speedrun.
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