Ben ‘Beatboy’ Armstrong’s fight causes wild swings in memecoin prices
An organized fight over the weekend between crypto influencer Ben “Beatboy” Armstrong and memecoin developer “Additional Light” appears to have gone beyond a flash of wild arms and legs.
Their associated memecoins – Ben (Ben) and Harry Potter ObamaSonic10Inu (BITCOIN) – were also minted before and after the match.
The pair went head-to-head on February 24 at the crypto influencer's fight night hosted by combat sports company Karate Bat in Mexico.
Ben “Beatboy” Armstrong battled Harry Potter ObamaSonic10Inu memecoin developer More Light in Mexico City's “Only in “Crypto” moment. They were surprisingly well-matched; here are the highlights. pic.twitter.com/N4qqr5zJM1
— Jameson Lopp (@lopp) February 25, 2024
Speaking to Cointelegraph, the developer of the BITCOIN simulator known as “Extra Light” said he decided to do the fight “on a whim” four weeks before the event.
“I randomly told the organizer at Karate Fight that if BitBoy's opponent was disqualified, I would fight him. “I heard about the fight four times five weeks ago and I was having fun, not training.” said More Light.
“So I had to put my ass in high gear.”
Extra Light said he didn't expect Armstrong to come out so “amped up” and was surprised when he was pulling crazy faces and swinging for the fences.
Memecoin exchanges and haymakers
According to pre-battle data from decentralized betting app Polymarkets, Extra Light was the crowd favorite for the tournament lead, with 62% of bets placed on memecoin dev.
However, Armstrong was declared the winner by unanimous decision after three two-minute bouts.
After Armstrong's win, the price of $BITCOIN dropped over 20% in 4 hours, falling from $0.052 to $0.040. The token has since rebounded and is trading around $0.056, up 40% since the end of the war.
Meanwhile, BEN, an Armstrong-linked memecoin, surged 87 percent in value following Armstrong's win. The token's price has since fallen to about $0.000005, according to Dex Screener data.
$ BEN post bitboy fight haha god I love this place
(Ben is a token ponzi) pic.twitter.com/cVWCoF009y
— cousin crypto (@cousincrypt0) February 24, 2024
Overall, Extra Light reiterated that there was no bad blood between them in real life and that Armstrong was physically a “good guy.”
HarryPotterObamaSonic10Inu The world's largest crypto asset Bitcoin (BTC) is a memecoin project built as a gag, co-opt the full name of the cryptocurrency as its symbol.
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The fight has drawn a range of reactions from crypto industry pundits, ranging from amusement to criticism.
“What kind of circle of hell is this and why am I watching it,” wrote Helios developer Mert in a Feb. 24 post X .
Meanwhile, others pushed back against any praise that Armstrong led the way.
“No, Bitboy shouldn't suddenly get credit for winning a karate tournament,” wrote trader TheFlowHorse.
No, Beatboy won't suddenly deserve credit for winning a karate tournament. “Ah, yes, he left his family and ruined his life in one line for all of us to see. But man, after I won that karate dance competition, it really turned the corner for me.” pic.twitter.com/uj5AAk3ZuZ
— HORSE (@TheFlowHorse) February 24, 2024
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