A meme coin called HERO has gained traction over the past few days, created in honor of a man who helped disarm one of two attackers during a deadly assault at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia, over the weekend.

The token briefly reached a market capitalization of $1.7 million. The team behind the initiative says the project will donate all creator fees to support the victims of the attack.

HERO Launched to Support Bondi Victims

A grassroots initiative has gathered momentum following the terrorist attack at Bondi Beach on Sunday, which left 15 people dead and at least 42 others injured.

An individual known as DefiANT on X launched the HERO meme coin in honor of Ahmed al-Ahmed, a 43-year-old fruit shop owner who managed to disarm one of the attackers during the incident.

According to DexScreener, HERO runs on Solana and currently has a market capitalization of $180,000. The meme coin was created via Pump.Fun and reached a peak of nearly $1.7 million in market cap. Although the meme coin was launched on the same day as the attack, the original developer rugged the project and later abandoned it.

Since then, the community has taken over stewardship of the token, with DefiANT emerging as the primary driving force. It has since evolved into a fully community-led initiative, with all proceeds dedicated to supporting the victims.

GoFundMe Page Created By the Meme Coin Community

Fundraising Campaign Surpasses $2.3 Million Mark

Alongside the token, the team launched a parallel GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for those affected by the attack.

According to the fundraising page, nearly 40,000 contributors have collectively raised over $2.3 million. The campaign has set a target of $3.1 million.

HERO Meme Coin Price Chart. Source: DexScreener

The official HERO website states that donations will be distributed to victims in multiple tranches. DefiANT also confirmed on social media that 47,000 Australian dollars have already been donated to individuals impacted by the attack.