US congressman inspires crypto enthusiasts to create new meme tokens

US Representative Brad Sherman, during a hearing of the Financial Services Committee, joked about a non-existent cryptocurrency. It quickly became a reality in several versions, Bloomberg reports.

Sherman stated that “the number one threat to cryptocurrency is cryptocurrency itself.” He then apparently paraphrased the song about the old lady who swallowed ever-larger animals to catch the previously swallowed.

According to the congressman, Bitcoin could be displaced by Ethereum, it could be leapfrogged by Dogecoin, which could be replaced by Hamster Coin, and then Cobra Coin.

“And what could Mongoose Coin do next?”, — rhetorically finished his joke.

The crypto community reacted with humor, launching several meme tokens — chiefly Mongoose (MONGOOSE) and Mongoose Coin (MONG), conceived by the politician. Other variations on the mongoose theme also appeared.

The coins were issued on the Avalanche, Polygon and Binance Smart Chain networks.

As of writing, the market capitalization of MONGOOSE stands at $22.5 million, according to Dextools. MONG’s value is just over $4,100, and Mongoose Coin Dao (MCD) has reached $628,000.

Sherman responded with good humor, posting on Twitter an image of a mongoose successfully hunting a cobra and a “hamster-like creature”.

“This tweet is not investment advice,” he added.

In an interview with Bloomberg, the politician said that true capitalism channels animal spirits toward a social good, while meme cryptocurrencies merely awaken greed.

“How can you pay a fortune for Bitcoin if you can’t be sure that in 20 years it will be more valuable than Hamster Coin? And how could you give anything for Hamster Coin if the bald congressman from Los Angeles’ joke at the hearings is about to tear it apart with a mongoose’s teeth,” said Sherman.

The Hamster (HAM) coin does exist, and the service CoinGecko has tracked it since June 7, 2021.

As a reminder, during the hearings several top executives from the crypto industry, who noted a high level of engagement in the discussion.