Crypto token minted for OpenAI whistle-blower Suchir Balaji has lost most of its value

JUSTICE FOR SUCHIR, a cryptocurrency token, has lost most of its value within a month after being minted.

JUSTICE FOR SUCHIR, a cryptocurrency token, which aims to support the legal effort to investigate the death of OpenAI whistle-blower Suchir Balaji, has lost most of its value within a month after being minted.

The token was first minted on December 13 on the Solana blockchain. Per CoinMarketCap analytics, it touched a high of almost $0.009 on December 30, and subsequently dropped to approximately $0.0019 on January 17, a drop of 74.50%.

Though likely not intended to be an investment vehicle, the drastic fall in price raises questions about why such a volatile asset is being used for legal fundraising and how transparency will be ensured.

Mr. Balaji had voiced ethical concerns about OpenAI’s alleged scraping of copyrighted works to train its AI products like ChatGPT. He also spoke to The New York Times about his findings in 2024 after leaving the company.

The 26-year-old was found dead inside his apartment in San Francisco on November 26, per local media reports. While initially reported as a suicide, his mother, Ms. Poornima Rao, is seeking an investigation into the death as she believes her son has been murdered.

Ms. Rao endorsed the JUSTICE FOR SUCHIR campaign, as well as the token, and asked for support to raise funds to help the family get justice for Balaji.

The SUCHIR token [token address: ByXTsen3ftsd7SsqgXpSZqrEeoMV8Smhz1vox9j6pump] has a self-reported market cap of $2.11 million and a self-reported circulating supply of 999.92 million SUCHIR, per CoinMarketCap.