Tiger King Coin shoots up 1,000% in price after backing from dogecoin investor

An obscure cryptocurrency has suddenly shot up in value after receiving endorsements from prominent social media influencers.

Tiger King Coin has risen by more than 900 per cent since the start of July, partly on hopes that it will receive attention when a new season of the eponymous Netflix series is released.

>> Follow all the latest updates with The Independent’s live coverage of the crypto market

Popular YouTuber and dogecoin investor Matt Wallace, who has nearly a quarter of a million subscribers, tweeted his support for the token this week, prompting an immediate price surge.

“I feel like $Tking (Tiger King Coin) is going to go crazy when season 2 of Tiger King comes,” Mr Wallace tweeted. “I am buying it up fast.”

In a subsequent tweet he revealed that Tiger King Coin was his second largest cryptocurrency holding behind dogecoin.

Tiger King Coin was ranked as the 2,663rd most valuable token according to CoinMarketCap, with each coin worth just 7/10,000th of a cent.

The cryptocurrency claims to be the “official coin” of the popular Tiger King series, which launched on Netflix last year.

Tiger King Coin also claims to have the support of Joseph Maldonado, aka Joe Exotic, the controversial lead character of the hit show. He is currently serving a 22-year prison sentence after being charged with animal abuse and attempting to hire someone to kill rival Carole Baskin.

“Joe will always be the Tiger King, but his colourful career has landed him with a hefty legal bill in a bid to fight a corrupt legal system,” the site states.

“Joe has received a percentage of $TKING supply secured during the stealth launch of the coin. Every buy will increase the value of his bag.”

The website details plans of a non-fungible token (NFT) launch in June, though no such NFT appears to exist.

“Sales from NFTs will be split between Joe Exotic’s legal defence team and tiger rescue funding,” the site states.

Last month, fellow Tiger King star Carole Baskin launched her own cat-themed cryptocurrency called $CAT, which has also seen massive price volatility in recent weeks.

“I’m investigating cryptocurrencies because I am concerned about the volume of US dollars that are being printed and distributed with nothing to back them up,” Ms Baskin wrote in a statement published in May.

“Our new $CAT coin is not a currency for investment, but rather is a purr-ency of our fans to show their love for the cats.”