Solana Raises Over $150,000 for Yellow-bellied Marmot Research Through Memecoin

A 64-year-long study on yellow-bellied marmots has received new funding after federal support was interrupted. An independent group created a memecoin on Solana, with creator fees bringing in over $150,000 for the research. The study, which began in 1962, is the second-longest study of individually identifiable wild mammals in the world, documenting family lineage, health, behavior, reproduction, and survival. UCLA stated that the National Science Foundation denied a request for continued funding at the end of May, putting the project at risk of a record interruption. Some funding came from Professor Daniel Blumstein's OnlyMarms account, which offers marmot videos and commentary on OnlyFans, initially raising about $6,000. Greater support came from the $OnlyMarms token, which was created and traded on the Solana platform, with royalties directed to the researchers. Julien Martin supports the initiative and added the contract address to the project page. The accumulated data supports recent research, with a lineage investigation of vigilance behavior covering 11 generations and 2,196 animals set for 2025, emphasizing the core value of not allowing any wild season to be interrupted.