Messi promotes the meme coin WATER on Solana: the story of its rise and fall

Football legend Lionel Messi posted on Instagram on Monday to promote the WATER token launched on the Solana blockchain. This move triggered the expected market phenomenon: a short-term price surge of 356%, raising the token’s value from $0.00032 to $0.00146 within two hours. However, behind this activity lies a well-known pattern in the crypto community—a classic meme coin cycle where a celebrity launches or promotes a token, the price spikes, and then a correction follows.

What happened to WATER’s price after Messi’s promotion

After the initial jump, WATER quickly retreated to around $0.001. As of February 26, 2026, the price stands at $0.00, down 22.70% in 24 hours. Price fluctuations are typical for meme coins, which are sensitive to news and social activity. Current trading volume is minimal ($19.38K daily), contrasting with the earlier claimed $40 million daily turnover, indicating short-term speculators have exited their positions.

Market capitalization of WATER, according to the latest data, is $1.45 million—a significant drop from the initially claimed $94 million. This gap vividly illustrates the reality of corrections after hype generated by social media.

Why Messi is promoting this particular meme coin

The project’s official website states that WATER is intended as a tool for charitable impact on the world, but specific mechanisms and areas of aid remain unclear. The connection between Messi and the project is obvious: one of the main platforms to buy WATER is the Bitget exchange, where the Argentine forward of Inter Miami has been an ambassador since October 2022. Attempts to get comments from Messi’s team about his true motives for promotion have so far been unsuccessful.

Lessons from history: why the crypto community is skeptical of Messi’s meme coin

This isn’t the first time Messi has been linked to failed projects. Analyst @ericonomics listed several examples on platform X: “First was Leafty—a complete rug pull, liquidity was removed about five days later. Second was Planet—another rug project, its value dropped 90% after the team stopped support.” The current WATER project is seen as the third attempt in this series.

Parallels with other celebrities are also concerning. In early 2024, media personality Caitlyn Jenner and rapper Iggy Azalea made significant profits from meme coins launched on Solana but later faced criticism for trying to profit off naive followers.

Ronaldinho joins the promotion

Shortly after Messi’s post, Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho also appears to have started promoting the project on his Instagram, causing a slight increase in the token’s price. However, this effort was insufficient to stabilize the project. Ronaldinho has not provided an official explanation of his role in promoting the meme coin.

Advice for investors and crypto enthusiasts

The story of WATER is yet another example of how meme coins leverage celebrity names to generate short-term market hype. A 356% surge in two hours followed by a 90%+ drop from the peak is a classic pattern that should warn potential investors against hasty decisions. The crypto community continues to express skepticism and caution regarding such initiatives, rightly pointing to historical examples.