Ronaldinho Gaúcho has become the latest soccer legend to promote the Solana memecoin Water Coin (WATER) on Instagram, following a similar post from Lionel Messi on his X account yesterday.
On July 9, Ronaldinho shared a photo of himself with Water Coin’s mascot peeping over his shoulder on Instagram and tagged the token’s Instagram account.
WATER’s price surged 38.8% to $0.0012 an hour after Ronaldinho’s post but later fell below $0.00083, according to CoinGecko. It is now 71% lower than its all-time high on June 26.
Since Messi’s Instagram post on June 8, WATER’s price has risen 158%, showing a similar promotional picture to Ronaldinho’s.
Water Coin aims to raise awareness for water-related issues, including sustainable projects to prevent deforestation and improve water distribution in Africa, as stated on its website.
The token’s roadmap details plans for celebrity partnerships before transitioning into a charity-focused environmental token.
Despite this, some industry critics, including YouTuber Ajay Kashyap, have flagged WATER as a potential pump-and-dump token, with concerns about its legitimacy.
Ronaldinho recently faced a Brazilian parliamentary committee over an alleged $61 million crypto pyramid scheme, “18kRonaldinho,” which promised 2% daily returns using his likeness in marketing. Ronaldinho denied any involvement, claiming the scheme used his image without his consent.
This incident is part of a broader trend of high-profile figures promoting crypto tokens. Former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner and UFC fighter Khazmat Chimaev have also been involved in similar promotions. Chimaev later claimed no involvement with the memecoin using his name, Khazmat Chimaev (SMASH), which was alleged by crypto sleuth ZachXBT to be a pump-and-dump scheme, with 78% of its supply controlled by the SMASH team.
