Nigerian singer David Adedeji Adeleke, popularly known as Davido (Omobaba olowo), has recently been in the spotlight after tying the knot with Chioma Rowland also known as Chef Chi.
Recognized as one of Africa’s leading Afrobeats superstars, Davido has significantly impacted the Nigerian music scene and gained international acclaim.
This success has brought considerable fortune to the 31-year-old artist.
With 29.6 million followers on Instagram, the “30 BG” singer wields substantial influence. This prominence has boosted his engagements and earnings, with TheWitness reporting on his estimated earnings at the close of 2023 of $20 million.
In addition to his musical career, the “Timeless” singer has ventured into various personal finance offerings, possibly to expand into business and entrepreneurship outside the entertainment industry.
Despite his ambitions, many of these ventures have ended unfavourably.
TheWitness explores the timelines and intricacies of these business endeavours, highlighting the signs that foreshadowed their failures over the past three years.
At the start of 2021, as lockdown regulations were beginning to ease, Davido endorsed Racksterli, an investment platform owned by Michael Chidiebere Oti (also known as ‘Black Gold’). Other celebrities, including Nancy Isime and Williams Uchemba, also supported the platform.
Racksterli attracted 422,305 subscribers, thanks in part to these high-profile endorsements.
However, by June 2021, Racksterli had crashed, leaving many investors without their capital or promised returns. Davido faced significant backlash for his involvement in promoting the platform.
Around the same period, Davido publicly endorsed RapDoge, encouraging his over 9 million followers to invest $20, $100, or $1000 in the token through a now-deleted tweet.
In a subsequent tweet, Davido hinted at the possibility of launching his own Bitcoin trading platform, asking, “Who listened to me about RapDoge?” This endorsement led to a dramatic 100% increase in RapDoge’s token price.
Despite the initial surge, RapDoge’s value has since plummeted back to its pre-promotion levels. Promoters of the coin had claimed it was poised to become the next big memecoin, but the hype was short-lived.
This incident highlights the volatile nature of celebrity endorsements in the cryptocurrency market and underscores the risks associated with investing in memecoins.
Davido took to his Instagram account to announce the launch of a new social token, going by the ticker, ‘ECHOKE.’ The ticker, ECHOKE comes from a slang the Nigerian Afrobeats artist commonly uses, which ultimately became an internet slang that means ‘pressure.’
TheWitness had reported that the token was a cryptocurrency built on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) and it is meant to, “provide access to giveaways, NFTs, festivals, exclusive merchandise, and other entertainment, media, and hospitality benefits.”
However, the social token did not gain the desired traction and was not a success.
In May 2024, the singer known for his hit “Feel” announced the launch of a crypto token or memecoin inspired by himself. The token, named “Timeless Davido” ($DAVIDO), is the latest addition to the growing trend of celebrity-themed memecoins gaining attention in the crypto industry.
Davido unveiled the $DAVIDO token on his X handle, with the announcement confirmed by the official Solana handle. He created the memecoin using the Pump Fun platform, which allows users to create tokens in a matter of minutes.
According to the crypto research tool Lookonchain, Davido received 7.5 SOL, worth $1,275, as startup capital to create the $DAVIDO token.
Following the creation, he spent 7 SOL to purchase 203 million $DAVIDO tokens, representing about 20.3% of the total supply.
Davido subsequently sold 121.88 million $DAVIDO tokens, netting a profit of over $473,000 within just 11 hours. He still holds an unrealized profit of $207,000.
However, the excitement was short-lived as the memecoin lost over 93% of its value the next day. According to TheWitness’ latest update from CoinMarketCap, the coin is currently trading at $0.000010.
Amid all the buzz, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Nigeria (SEC) issued a cautionary statement regarding the significant risks associated with investments in meme coins, including those linked to the “Unavailable” singer, Davido.
The Commission emphasized that meme coins are cryptocurrencies inspired by internet memes and jokes, often marketed as fun and light-hearted investments.
Their promotion is frequently driven by social media communities and sometimes bolstered by celebrity endorsements.
The SEC’s warning highlights the speculative nature of these digital assets and urges the public to exercise caution and due diligence before considering any investment in meme coins.
Additionally, crypto trading has been put on hold in Nigeria, with major companies like Binance coming under close scrutiny by the government over allegations of market manipulation.
Davido’s journey into personal finance and investments over the past three years highlights the importance of due diligence, transparency, and accountability.
His involvement in controversial projects like Racksterli and various crypto tokens has had significant repercussions, not just for him but for his fans and followers as well.
