From theblock by Nhat Hoang

Meme coins have been one of the hottest trends in the 2024 crypto market. While most investors view meme coins as opportunities to earn profits, they can serve a much greater purpose. MIRA is an example.

The story of Siqi Chen, founder of Runway, serves as an example of how meme coins can be used in the meaningful way they were intended.

The MIRA Token: A Social Benefit of Meme Coins

In September 2024, Siqi Chen painfully shared the news that his 4-year-old daughter, Mira, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Mira was found to have a rare brain tumor known as a craniopharyngioma. Although benign, the tumor was located in an extremely critical part of her brain.

Yet after undergoing surgery, Mira’s health improved.

During her treatment, many well-wishers suggested raising funds for Mira. However, Siqi encouraged supporters to donate to a children’s brain tumor fund instead. What he didn’t expect was that an X user, Waddles, would create a meme coin on Solana called MIRA to support research efforts and send half of its supply to him.

“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 Solana community behind a good cause on Christmas. I’m really glad that it worked out the way that it has, and I hope the money helps to find a cure both for Mira and anyone else with her condition,” the Waddles account stated.

Siqi pledged not to keep any of the funds for himself, promising instead to donate 100% of the proceeds to research. He decided to sell 1% of his MIRA holdings daily, consistently updating his personal page with sale reports. Surprisingly, instead of the token’s price dropping, it soared. Siqi was astonished at how the community supported the MIRA token, causing the value of his holdings to exceed $14 million.

“Can someone please explain how this magic internet money works? I am losing my mind,” Siqi exclaimed.

As this story spread on social media, data from GeckoTerminal showed that MIRA’s market cap exceeded $80 million at the time of reporting, with trading volumes surpassing $100 million. The higher MIRA’s price climbed, the more funds Siqi could raise for brain tumor research. This wasn’t purely due to FOMO but also because of the spirit of contributing to a meaningful cause for society.

“A friendly reminder that every dollar you rug from MIRA is a dollar you’re taking away from rare disease research for children because I am not keeping a cent. Not a penny,” Siqi reiterated.

However, numerous fake tokens using images of Siqi Chen’s family have recently appeared on the Pump.fun platform.

MIRA’s price surge proves Vitalik Buterin’s point that meme coins can make meaningful contributions to society and the global community.