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Jude Bellingham is having the tournament of his life at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. A Solana meme token named after him is having the opposite experience.
The $JUDE token, which launched on Solana with zero official backing from the England midfielder, peaked at roughly $0.00062 before cratering approximately 98%. For anyone keeping score at home, that means a $1,000 bet at the top would now be worth about $20.
Bellingham’s World Cup run has been absurd
On July 7, 2026, Bellingham scored twice in the span of 98 to 99 seconds against Mexico during the group stage, helping England claw back to a 3-2 victory. During England’s group stage match against Croatia, Bellingham found the net again in what turned out to be a comprehensive 4-2 win. Then came the quarterfinals against Norway on July 11. England looked destined for elimination until Bellingham scored in stoppage time to level the match at 1-1.
The $JUDE token: a 98% lesson in due diligence
The $JUDE token launched on Solana, likely timed to coincide with Bellingham’s World Cup performances. It briefly attracted speculative interest, peaking at around $0.00062. And then it fell off a cliff, losing roughly 98% of its value. Bellingham himself had no connection to the project.
Why this matters for crypto investors
High-profile sporting events like the World Cup create concentrated bursts of public attention. The speed at which these tokens can be deployed means they often appear within hours of a trending moment. A 98% drawdown isn’t an anomaly in this category. It’s the base case.
For the broader crypto industry, incidents like this fuel the regulatory argument that athlete-linked and celebrity-linked tokens need clearer guardrails. The US Securities and Exchange Commission has already signaled interest in how tokens that leverage public figures’ likenesses without authorization should be treated.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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