Overview

• Zhao said the academy raised more than $1 million in its first 12 hours, while the Giggle Fund site later showed contributions exceeding $2.4 million within days.
• Nearly 90% of early donations came from the Giggle memecoin on BSC, which directs trading fees to Giggle Academy.
• After the influx, Zhao declared that meme coins have utility, reversing criticism he voiced in late 2024.
• He set policies for the nonprofit that require crypto-only, on-chain donations and the conversion of received meme tokens into major altcoins, warning donors about potential selling pressure.
• Zhao ruled out launching an academy token, said he will not hold any memecoin supply, and committed to personally covering employee and server costs as donations are used to incentivize contributors.