A second Solana memecoin created by a vice president at auction house Sotheby’s allowed a trader to cash out $1 million in crypto in just 30 minutes.
On December 4, Michael Bouhanna teased another art-themed memecoin on his X account. Then, a wallet address associated with the executive created a new memecoin called Nothing (VOID).
After memecoin launch, one trader spent 35 Solana 
SOLUSDworth approximately $8,200, to purchase 462 million VOID tokens, representing 44% of the total supply. Just 30 minutes after the purchase, the wallet sold 439 million tokens for 4,604 SOL worth over $1 million.
Bouhanna previously launched a memecoin called Comedian (BAN), inspired by the $6 million banana-shaped artwork that was eventually purchased by Tron founder Justin Sun. His first attempt at memecoins resulted in allegations of insider trading.
The “initiated” controversy over Bouhanna’s memecoin
The executive’s first foray into memecoins with BAN attracted attention, as blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain claimed that Bouhanna profited from insider trading.
Lookonchain alleged that the Sotheby’s executive made $1 million on the BAN token with an insider’s wallet. The company claimed that Bouhanna purchased many memecoins before launching his own but “made almost no money,” implying that this prompted the executive to launch his first memecoin.
Bouhanna has denied allegations that he used an insider portfolio to make $1 million. The head of Sotheby’s declared:
“Recently a tweet suggested I made $1 million in profit, which is completely false. The portfolio in question does not belong to me and most of this amount was unrealized value.
The executive also said the token was a “personal hobby” unrelated to his role at Sotheby’s. He clarified that the Comedian memecoin has no connection with the auction house.
Bouhana said he initially wanted to launch BAN anonymously to avoid associating it with his personal profile or professional affiliation. “I didn’t even check to see if my wallet could be traced, which shows how little I expected the token to attract attention,” he wrote.
The executive said that when the community noticed its affiliation, the narrative that it might be linked to Sotheby’s was pushed to promote the token without its approval.
The community responds to Bouhanna’s memecoins
Some members of the crypto community were unhappy with Bouhanna’s Solana memecoin hobby. One X user wrote that although most people try to cover up fraud, Bouhanna has “adopted this lifestyle.”
Some tagged the auction house and asked the company if it was OK with its employees “harassing people with memecoins.”