Why Being a Good Steward Is Rewarding - Even If Not Financially
As most of you know, I was rather abruptly and without notice thrust into the position of taking over stewardship of a meme coin created in my name and likeness: @WhiteWhaleMeme
If I’m being completely honest, I dreaded this. Memes are historically not my thing. But over the past week or so, I’ve had some unexpected realizations, and it’s quickly turned into one of the most interesting jobs I’ve ever taken on - one I’ll never get paid to do (by design). And that’s despite the fact that it has cost me quite a lot. I’m talking about more than just money. I’ll get to that later on.
Because I’ve always said I would never launch a meme (and I didn’t), I needed to be very clear from the start: I would never personally profit from taking this over. Coins generate revenue. Plain and simple - whether through creator fees, LP yields, or other mechanics. So what to do with all that revenue?
One of the first things I did was distribute roughly $35,000 in Solana rewards directly to holders. No airdrop claim page. No friction. Just random SOL showing up in wallets across the chain.
The next step was establishing a treasury wallet. Since then, the treasury has taken over 20% of total supply out of circulation through a combination of strategic buybacks and direct contributions from myself into the treasury.
It also became immediately clear that the original launch team - serial deployers, as many of them are - completely screwed up the on-chain liquidity structure. This isn’t unique to this project; it’s endemic in a lot of crypto - but especially in memes. Short-term thinking. Fast money. No stewardship. Because I don't have a financial reward tied to this the "right path" was very easy to see.
Today, the treasury actively runs strategic on-chain market-making operations. Combined with buybacks, this has resulted in noticeably improved price stability during a week where nearly everything else has been bleeding.
Then came the genuinely fun part: negotiating zero-fee CEX listings (upcoming), building gated token-holder chats, beginning to assemble a team of amazing volunteers, and laying groundwork for ideas that go well beyond “number go up”
I told my wife the other day, “This is the first time I’ve felt alive in crypto again in a while.” And that surprised me more than anyone.
But it hasn’t come without cost. I’ve invested six figures of my own money correcting the damage left by the previous developers. More difficult than that, though, was the social cost. Some of the people I respect most in this space thought taking this on was a mistake. I was advised - more than once - that the best move was to just quietly let it die.
No one really understood why I’d risk my time, money, and reputation to act as a good steward…for a meme.
The answer is simple, and it’s two-fold.
First, I don’t do anything halfway. If I commit, I’m all in. Always have been.
Second, this puts me in a completely different seat on the bus. It allows me to refine skills I’ve previously understood at a mostly academic level. It’s one thing to analyze how market makers operate. It’s another thing entirely to have your hands on the controls, applying that knowledge in real time - responsibly. Being on the other side of a crypto project is an education you can’t fake, and I’m grateful to be enrolled.
At the end of the day, it’s still a meme. One I haven’t told anyone to buy - and won’t. The ultimate fate of any project still boils down to a single, timeless question: does the market care enough?
What I have told holders in private chats is this: the only promise I’ll ever make is that I'll do my best. Give my best effort. To be a good steward. To try new ideas. To push boundaries in a crowded, cynical space. All guided by someone with no financial incentive - just a bit of pride, and a strong belief that how you play the game matters.
🫡 From the depths —
The White Whale 🐋
@MEXC_Official
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@TracyMEXC,#MEXCFreeze#FreeTheWhiteWhale UID:71312117.I feel you. My experience was unpleasant.Futures exchange feels, and I am sure it is,rigged.I placed a lot of funds in there and lost it all.Freezing your funds confirms they are and were untrustworthy.Amend
@MEXC_Official,@TracyMEXC #FreeTheWhiteWhale UID: 71312117.
I feel you. My experience was unpleasant.Futures exchange feels, and I am sure it is,rigged.I placed a lot of funds in there and lost it all. Freezing your funds confirms they are and were untrustworthy.Please change
@BitcoinBiology @TVstedal @itsALLrisky@elonmusk I think this is a different a completely different topic now… People are giving that value… Before directing your value concerns toward IOTA, you may want to have a look at Tesla or Kusama test net valuation…!
@BitcoinBiology @TVstedal @itsALLrisky@elonmusk Are you intentionally miss understanding me ? I am not saying that at all. The network that you are referring to, does not exist any more. In the same manner Bitcoin inflation bug is fixed and ethereum DAO hack will not happen again. At the time IOTA wasn’t even BETA stage.Clear?