‘Baby Shark’ Token Drops 90% on Story Protocol Following Creator’s Denial of Issue

A “Baby Shark” token, marketed as officially linked to the viral YouTube video, tumbled 90% after the issuing platform acknowledged it lacked permission from brand owner Pinkfong Co.

The memecoin fell from a Tuesday high of 35 cents to below 0.064 cents on Story Protocol, a layer-1 blockchain focused on intellectual property, after Pinkfong, headquartered in Seoul, issued a statement on X (formerly Twitter) confirming the token had “no affiliation whatsoever” with the company.

Baby Shark, a two-minute children’s music video launched in 2016, has amassed more than 16 billion views. The token, which briefly reached a $200 million market capitalization, was issued via IP.World. The platform said it relied on rights provided by a Pinkfong licensee, which later proved invalid, blocking creator fees from being released.

“We, and the community, had every reason to believe the launch was fully authorized,” IP.World stated. Pinkfong clarified that only two digital assets—the Baby Shark Meme on Solana and Baby Shark Universe Token on BNB Chain—are officially endorsed.

Traders who bought the token under the impression of an official Pinkfong collaboration were left exposed, amplified by influencer promotions and Story Protocol’s marketing.

Blockchain analytics firm Bubblemaps reported at least one participant funneled funds through multiple newly created wallets to capture roughly $10 million worth of tokens in the first minute of trading—about 7% of the total supply issued on September 23.

IP.World identified the licensee involved, but CoinDesk has not named the company due to unsuccessful contact attempts.