Cicada 3301
Cicada 3301 3301 is one of the internet's most famous unsolved mysteries: a series of fiendishly hard cryptographic puzzles posted anonymously by a group known only as '3301,' which claimed to be hunting for highly intelligent people. Spanning cryptography, hidden data, phone poles across the globe and the poetry of William Blake, it ran from 2012 to 2014 and its purpose has never been confirmed.
Origin
On January 4, 2012, an image appeared on the 4chan message board inviting readers to find a hidden message inside it. Solvers who cracked that first layer were sent tumbling through a chain of puzzles blending steganography, classical ciphers, number theory, cyberpunk literature and references to William Blake, all signed by an entity calling itself '3301.' The puzzles were themed around cicadas and carried the stated goal of recruiting 'intelligent individuals.'
Spread
The hunt went physical: solvers eventually reached GPS coordinates pointing to telephone poles in the United States, Spain, France, Russia, Poland, Japan and elsewhere, each carrying a paper poster with a QR code that continued the trail. A second puzzle launched on January 4, 2013, and a third on January 4, 2014. Only small numbers of solvers are ever reported to have reached the end, and the ultimate reward or organization behind it was never publicly proven. Media dubbed it 'the most elaborate and mysterious puzzle of the internet age,' and it inspired endless forums, videos and copycat games.
Legacy
Cicada 3301 became shorthand for the ultimate internet rabbit hole — an anonymous, globe-spanning cryptographic treasure hunt whose author remains unknown. Its last verified OpenPGP-signed message, disowning any unsigned puzzle, appeared in April 2017, and the third puzzle is still considered unsolved. The mystery endures as a touchstone of hacker and cryptography culture, which is why the '3301' cicada iconography resurfaced as a Solana memecoin.
The Chain Trail
MemePedia tracks 1 Cicada 3301 memecoin across Solana.
Key facts
- The first Cicada 3301 puzzle appeared on 4chan on January 4, 2012.
- The puzzles combined cryptography, steganography, number theory and references to William Blake's poetry.
- Physical clues were posters with QR codes taped to telephone poles in countries including the US, Spain, France, Russia, Poland and Japan.
- New puzzle rounds launched on January 4 of 2013 and 2014.
- The group said it was recruiting 'highly intelligent individuals,' but its true purpose was never confirmed.
- The last verified OpenPGP-signed Cicada message appeared in April 2017; the third puzzle is regarded as unsolved.
This is the card that shows up when you drop the link on X or in a group. Post it, screenshot it, or save the image.
The tokens that claim Cicada 3301
Every token we can tie to this meme, and which contract appeared first. The original is marked OG; the rest arrived to ride the name.
| # | Coin | Price | 24h | Market Cap | Liquidity | Launched |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Cicada 3301 $3301 | — | — | — | — | Jul 4, 2026 |
Combined live market cap for Cicada 3301: $0 across 1 coin. Market data is live from DexScreener; figures are not investment advice.
The on-chain receipts for $3301, pulled straight from the chain.
On-chain report
via helius · updated 1d agoHeld by the top 10 wallets.
- 1. 5D99…2vAp73.08%
- 2. 3GwV…NnN63.90%
- 3. GhRF…i3Sz2.88%
- 4. Dwjf…f19h2.60%
- 5. Fhua…W8Xv2.43%
- 6. CGWM…qRDn1.68%
- 7. 6Xi1…DUtG1.45%
- 8. 6Srd…4kFW1.39%
- 9. AK3g…Syno1.36%
- 10. u9wa…iNL81.28%
- Top 10 wallets hold 92.1% of supply — highly concentrated.
- Deployment predates the scanned history — earliest date is a lower bound.
Facts pulled directly from the chain via Solscan-grade data. Not financial advice.
The deep investigation. Deployer and wallet maps, contract migrations, bundles, supply concentration, and every project that falsely claimed to be first, with archived sources and a full chronological record.
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