Turbo is an Ethereum-based ERC-20 memecoin, guided by GPT-4 and centered around a toad character named Quantum Leap. The project was initiated in April 2023 through a unique collaboration between Australian artist Rhett (Dashwood) Mankind and artificial intelligence. ^[1][2][3]

Overview

Turbo is a cryptocurrency initiative founded by Rhett Mankind, an Australian digital artist with a background in branding and advertising. Launched in April 2023, the project aims to explore the integration of art, artificial intelligence (AI), and cryptocurrency, using OpenAI's GPT-4 to assist in creating a memecoin.

With a budget of $69 USD, TurboToadToken (TTT) was introduced, with the token name chosen by Mankind's Twitter followers. The logo features a space-helmet-wearing orange cartoon toad named Quantum Leap, created using the AI image tool Midjourney.

A challenge in developing TurboToadToken was Mankind's lack of coding knowledge. Instead of learning Solidity, he relied on GPT-4 for code generation and, with help from his Twitter community, resolved coding issues over several days to complete the initial version of TurboToadToken.^{[4][5][6][7][8][12]}

Relaunch as TURBO

The initial launch of the Turbo token faced challenges when a malicious bot acquired nearly all the tokens after Rhett Mankind invested an additional $500 for deployment. Following this setback, Mankind contemplated discontinuing the project; however, a Twitter poll indicated strong support for its continuation. With guidance from GPT-4, Mankind adopted a crowdfunding approach, allowing investors to exchange funds for proportional tokens, and rebranded the token as TURBO.

Launched in April 2023, TURBO consisted of 69 billion tokens operating on the Ethereum network. Mankind then transferred control to the community to promote decentralization. The project garnered notable attention, including from individuals such as Beeple and Elon Musk, and achieved a market cap of $200 million with a peak trading volume of $267 million within weeks. Turbo is listed on over 80 exchanges, notably exchanges such as OKX, HTX, Bitget, BingX, Bitmart, CoinEX, Binance, Kucoin, Kraken, Uphold, and more. ^[4][5][6][7]​​^[8][12]

Tokenomics

ChatGPT-created tokenomics model is based on these major elements:

• A fixed total supply of 69 billion tokens;
• A tax-free model to ‘simplify transactions and encourage trading activity;
• Renounced ownership over the contract to reinforce trust within potential buyers and future communities;
• Project launch without a presale period, in order to ensure a fair distribution and prevent any price manipulation strategies.^[12]

Turbo Community

While smaller than other online communities backing memecoins like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu Coin, token holders took several initiatives, ranging from listing the coin on Dextools (which offers information to traders about decentralized markets) and several other CEXes and DEXes, to setting up a Telegram chat, to running an art contest that incorporates the token.

"It's all community run. I keep saying that, because people come into the Discord, because I look at the general chat, and they say, "who's the team? What are devs like? Are they are best friends?" And the answer is always there is no team. There's no devs. It's just community. Whatever someone wants to do in the community, they can do. And everything I've done is just to double down on that so it's clear. So I made sure that mascot and the logo is copyright free. No one has to worry about that. The contract is renounced, so I don't control the contract. I don't have access to the Twitter. I don't have mod permissions on Discord. I didn't start the Telegram. I'm not even on the Telegram. Everything that is done is done independent of me. I didn't start or do any of those sorts of initiatives."

The community played a role in the creation of the Turbo memecoin. It was involved at various stages of the coin’s development, and its involvement was important in multiple instances:

• Naming and logo design: The name “TurboToadToken” and the logo, an orange cartoon toad wearing a space helmet, were both chosen with input from Mankind’s Twitter followers. They preferred the name “TurboToadToken” among other suggestions by the AI chatbot GPT-4​;
• Coding assistance: While creating the token, the Twitter community also assisted Mankind in addressing various coding errors. This helped Mankind and GPT-4 to create the first version of the TurboToadToken​​;
• Support during setbacks: After the initial launch failed due to a malicious bot purchasing nearly all of the tokens, Mankind’s Twitter followers encouraged him to continue the project. They voted in a poll for him to continue, which led him to seek a new approach from GPT-4 and eventually led to the successful relaunch of the memecoin​​;
• Shared ownership and control: After the token’s launch, Mankind renounced ownership of the smart contract and made the mascot freely available to anyone. This action effectively put the control of the project into the community’s hands, fostering a sense of ownership and shared responsibility among its members​.^[12]