Crypto stays weird in Austin as truck declares “hot dogs are in control”
There are two trucks parked outside CoinDesk’s Consensus crypto conference in Austin this week. One is promoting Robert F. Kennedy’s presidential run. The other is promoting Costco Hotdog, a memecoin that’s 0% affiliated with Costco
Created two months ago, the Solana-based coin is worth about four cents now, giving it a ~$34 million market cap. Holders of the coin want to pump its value up to $1.50, the famously stable cost of a Costco hot dog. Eventually they want the price of the token to hit $4.50, which is roughly the inflation-adjusted cost of the famous frank.
To get there, Costco Hotdog needs attention. Lots of it. And its growing community of holders is mobilizing to pump the coin. Hence the truck, which Scott Conner, an early investor, told Sherwood the community “threw together at the last-minute.”
On the side of the truck are hot-dog ads and deepfaked videos of celebs like Dave Portnoy proclaiming their love for Costco hot dogs. Blasting from its speakers is AI-generated music with lyrics like “hot dogs are in control,” one of the coin’s slogans. All of these assets were created by holders of the token. Nearby the truck, people dressed as hot dogs handed out hot dogs to passersby.
The community is so passionate about its glizzy dream that one holder has been eating a Costco hot dog every day for the past 50+ days to promote the coin and plans to continue until the token hits $1.50.
“None of this is orchestrated…and it’s just like snowballing,” Conner said. “What makes doge? What makes wif? What makes bonk? It’s the people on the ground.”
On the side of the truck are hot-dog ads and deepfaked videos of celebs like Dave Portnoy proclaiming their love for Costco hot dogs. Blasting from its speakers is AI-generated music with lyrics like “hot dogs are in control,” one of the coin’s slogans. All of these assets were created by holders of the token. Nearby the truck, people dressed as hot dogs handed out hot dogs to passersby.
The community is so passionate about its glizzy dream that one holder has been eating a Costco hot dog every day for the past 50+ days to promote the coin and plans to continue until the token hits $1.50.
“None of this is orchestrated…and it’s just like snowballing,” Conner said. “What makes doge? What makes wif? What makes bonk? It’s the people on the ground.”
