Ronaldinho Gaúcho is making waves in the crypto world. The legendary soccer star took Instagram to promote the Solana token Water Coin (WATER). This follows a similar endorsement by Lionel Messi on his X account just a day earlier.

In a July 9 Instagram story to his 76.6 million followers, Ronaldinho shared a photo featuring him with Water Coin's mascot peeping over his shoulder. The story tagged the token's Instagram account, driving significant attention to the cryptocurrency.

The market reacted quickly. WATER rallied 38.8% to $0.0012 within an hour of Ronaldinho's post. However, the excitement could have been more-lived. CoinGecko data shows that the token's price has since plummeted below $0.00083. Its current value marks a significant drop of 71% from its all-time high reached on June 26.

Interestingly, WATER saw a price surge of 158% following Messi's Instagram post on June 8. Messi's post shared a similar theme, featuring a picture much like Ronaldinho's. Despite the volatile market response, both endorsements have brought considerable attention to Water Coin.

Water Coin aims to raise awareness of water-related issues. According to its website, the token supports sustainable projects that prevent deforestation and aid African water distribution.

The project's roadmap outlines plans to form celebrity partnerships before transitioning into a charity-focused environmental token.

Ronaldinho's involvement in crypto isn't without controversy. The Brazilian national appeared before a parliamentary committee inquiry in August over an alleged $61 million crypto pyramid scheme named "18kRonaldinho."

The scheme promised 2% daily returns to investors and used Ronaldinho's likeness in its marketing. Ronaldinho denied involvement, claiming he never partnered with the project and was also a victim of unauthorized use of his image.

"I was also a victim as it used my likeness without my permission," Ronaldinho argued.

The trend of celebrities promoting crypto tokens is on the rise. Notable examples include former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner and UFC fighter Khazmat Chimaev.

Chimaev recently uploaded a video promoting a token named after him, Khazmat Chimaev (SMASH), adding to the growing list of celebrity endorsements in the crypto world.

However, as Khazmat Chimaev (SMASH) demonstrates, not all celebrity endorsements are what they seem. Chimaev initially promoted the token but later claimed no involvement with the memecoin.

Crypto sleuth ZachXBT revealed that the SMASH token distribution exhibited pump-and-dump scheme characteristics, with the team allegedly owning 78% of its supply.