A suggestion from Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson for the next hard fork name has sparked speculations around the birth of a new meme coin.

These speculations are primarily due to Hoskinson’s influence in the Cardano and broader crypto communities; a phenomenon observed with the recent slew of meme coin launches related to him.

Cardano Hard Fork Names

Cardano is on the verge of fully welcoming the Chang hard fork, with Phil Chang, an early Cardano proponent who passed away two years ago being the inspiration behind the name. The Chang hard fork will mark Cardano’s entry into the Voltaire era, characterized by improved decentralization.

Amid the anticipation around the forthcoming hard fork, some community members have made propositions for the name of the next hard fork after Chang. Notably, Cardano’s most recent hard fork was the Valentine hard fork, so named because it occurred on Feb. 14, 2023. Before Valentine, Cardano witnessed the Vasil hard fork in September 2022.

With Chang on the verge of implementation, community members already have names for the next hard fork. Interestingly, the Cardano founder took to X to jump on the trend. Hoskinson humorously suggested in a recent post that they could call the next hard fork a Tasseled Wobblegong Shark.

Now that the community is naming hark forks, I guess we are free to be as creative as possible. I’m voting for a Tasseled Wobblegong Shark. pic.twitter.com/GaijqXUjul

— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) July 20, 2024

For the uninitiated, the Tasseled Wobbegong Shark is carpet shark species that primarily inhabits the shallow waters of the Indo-Pacific. The carpet shark features a unique fringe of skin flaps around its head, resembling tassels. This sets it apart from most sharks, giving it a distinctive look.

Speculations around an Imminent Meme Coin Launch

Hoskinson’s humorous reference to the carpet shark species has sparked speculations around a possible meme coin launch. Notably, the Cardano founder has recently found himself embroiled in multiple cases involving new meme coins. These new tokens have taken inspiration from his pets.

Last month, Hoskinson’s pet pig NIKE took center stage when the Cardano founder shared a picture of the animal. Shortly after, a meme coin inspired by the pig began trading in the market. At the time The Crypto Basic reported the event, the meme coin had surged 80,370% in 24 hours.

Moreover, another meme coin with an inspiration from Hoskinson’s pet parrot emerged a few days after Nike launched. Nonetheless, this meme coin took a hard hit when Hoskinson confirmed that the parrot’s name is not Rio, as earlier speculated. The token saw a 96% price slump in an hour.

Citing these instances, proponents have suggested that the community could soon witness the launch of a Tasseled Wobblegong Shark (TWS) meme coin. California-based coach Jeff Sutherland began a countdown for such a launch. Another commenter suggested a similar outcome.

At the reporting time, The Crypto Basic has not discovered any meme coin associated with the name. However, the possibility of a launch in the next few days remains high. The Cardano ecosystem has also had its fair share of meme coins, with SNEK being the most successful one to date.