A heartwarming story in the crypto space recently unfolded as a charity memecoin, $MIRA, created to support research for a rare brain tumor, skyrocketed to an $80 million market capitalization. While its value has since dropped, the project raised over $1 million for a critical cause.

The Story Behind $MIRA

In September 2024, Siqi Chen, founder of the startup finance platform Runway, revealed a personal tragedy: his 4-year-old daughter, Mira, was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor called craniopharyngioma. Though benign, the tumor’s location in a critical area of her brain posed immense risks.

After a successful surgery, Chen turned his focus outward, encouraging well-wishers to contribute to research for children’s brain tumors. Little did he know, a Solana memecoin, $MIRA, would become the centerpiece of this fundraising effort.

How $MIRA Took Off

The initiative gained traction when an anonymous X user, Waddles, created the $MIRA token on the Solana blockchain. Waddles sent half the token's supply to Chen, encouraging the Solana community to rally behind the cause.

"When I saw the story about Mira and her illness, I thought it would be good to buy and send supply to you with the hopes of getting the SOL community behind a good cause on Christmas," Waddles wrote on X.

The memecoin quickly gained attention, with traders joining to support the mission. Chen pledged to donate 100% of the funds raised to research efforts at the Hankinson Lab at the University of Colorado. He adopted a transparent approach, liquidating 1% of his holdings daily and sharing updates on social media.

The Unprecedented Growth

The $MIRA token’s value soared as the story captured hearts on X (formerly Twitter). Market data showed its capitalization peaking at $80 million, with trading volumes exceeding $100 million. Chen’s holdings alone surpassed $14 million at the token’s peak.

“I have been on the internet for 30 years and have seen some shit, but this is by far the craziest day of my life,” Chen wrote on X. “I will be liquidating $1,000 worth of $MIRA every 10 minutes, perpetually. If change this schedule, i commit to announcing it 24 hours in advance.”

The funds raised far exceeded expectations, with over $1 million earmarked for rare disease research. The original GoFundMe page for the effort also neared its $300,000 goal, further bolstered by the crypto contributions.

The Aftermath

Despite its meteoric rise, $MIRA’s value dropped significantly after peaking, settling at a market cap of around $20 million. A related token, "KitKat," inspired by Mira’s dog, also experienced a brief surge before stabilizing.

Chen remained committed to the cause, noting that the funds raised were a net positive despite market fluctuations.

“…at the end of the day we set out to raise $200K and we will end up with at least $1M towards rare disease research,” Chen remarked.

The crypto community largely celebrated the initiative. Many highlighted how memecoins, often dismissed as speculative assets, could be harnessed for meaningful impact.

“This is why crypto exist! Simplify movement of assets for good causes,” one X user commented.