An Australian digital artist, Rhett Dashwood (Mankind), used ChatGPT and just 69 dollars to create a meme cryptocurrency that unexpectedly grew to a 200-million-dollar market cap. In 2023, he asked ChatGPT how to build a “great coin,” with strict rules: it must be legal, cost almost nothing, and aim for CoinGecko’s top 300. ChatGPT responded with a full roadmap choose a catchy name, design a meme-friendly mascot, build a community, set governance rules, and generate blockchain code. Dashwood made the entire chat log public and framed the project as an AI-driven, community-funded experiment.
For the mascot, he put several AI-generated options up for a vote, and TurboToad won. With only 69 dollars himself, he let early supporters contribute small amounts in exchange for tokens. About 50 people joined in, creating the initial pool. The project had no team, no presale, no marketing, yet it went viral once users on X began sharing the unusual story: someone created a coin entirely with AI.
Within 48 hours, Turbo’s market cap hit 1 million dollars; in two weeks, it surpassed 200 million. On-chain activity exploded, DEXs listed it proactively, and holder numbers doubled day after day. Some users even claimed life-changing profits.
Turbo succeeded not through tech or capital but through emotion and transparency. Dashwood presented himself as a relatable creator who let the community decide direction. The narrative one person + one AI + $69 was irresistible to the internet. Many weren’t investing for utility but to be part of the story.
Though his later experimental project “Clown” stirred controversy, Turbo highlighted a bigger shift: if anyone can create with AI and everything is transparent on-chain, who needs intermediaries or even trust?
If you had AI as a partner, what would you create?
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