A 23-year-old man, Arnold Haro, has died in what appears to be a livestreamed suicide on X, formerly Twitter, after reportedly losing $500 on a Solana memecoin investment. The incident has ignited a wave of grief, criticism, and a fundraising effort to support his family.
Haro’s livestream, which has since been removed from his account, showed him engaging in a form of “Russian Roulette” with a revolver. Before the apparent self-inflicted gunshot, Haro reportedly told viewers, “If I die, I hope you guys turn this into a memecoin.” Immediately following the incident, cryptocurrencies bearing his name appeared on the market, drawing widespread condemnation for profiting from the tragedy.
A GoFundMe campaign, organized by Maria Lucero Haro, states that Arnold Haro “lost his battle with depression.” The fundraiser aims to collect $50,000 to cover funeral expenses and honor his memory. He leaves behind a one-year-old daughter, his partner, parents, and three sisters. The campaign describes Haro as “a bright, kind, and hilarious soul” who “always put others before himself.”
According to Bitcoin Protocol, Haro had lost $500 in a Solana memecoin investment prior to the livestream. Solana memecoins have a well-established reputation of being scams and opportunities for criminals to defraud others. Loosely-governed websites such as the popular Pump.fun allow fraudsters to operate without restriction; rugpulls on the site occur within seconds or minutes on almost every coin users launch, earning the launchpad what some estimate to be $15.4M daily on the high end.
Friends and supporters on X shared their grief, with one user writing, “RIP Arnold, he was there when I was at my lowest. If you can help out please do, he was the best, just a lost soul towards the end, I wish he reached out more when he was feeling down.”
However, the incident has also sparked outrage directed at the “memecoin community.” Users like destroynectar and beaniemaxie criticized the opportunism of traders who sought to profit from Haro’s death. “If you’re one of the scumbags that made money off this guy’s suicide, you can at least consider giving some back. He’s a real person,” beaniemaxie wrote.
The incident has also raised concerns about X’s content moderation policies. Earlier this month, the platform introduced a “report moment of death” feature, allowing users to flag content depicting death. However, questions remain regarding the platform’s ability to effectively address such incidents. Reports indicate that X has experienced significant staff reductions since Elon Musk’s acquisition, potentially impacting its ability to ensure user safety. Former employees have raised concerns about the lack of resources dedicated to safety measures. Flagging death and suicide videos for removal is a particular area of concern, with reports suggesting the steps required for family members to have graphic videos as being onerous beyond reason.
X’s policy regarding self-harm, previously available online, currently displays an error message.
