What's Going On With Enron Supposedly Coming Back And Launching A Meme Coin? The 'Enron Egg' Prank, Rebrand Hoax And Crypto Scam Explained

What happens when a meme movement's mastermind decides to resurrect one of the most infamous corporate disaster brands in American history? Meet the "new" Enron — part performance art and part blockchain bamboozle that would make the original Enron executive scamsters bow down in awe.

Weeks after CEO extraordinaire and Birds Aren't Real co-creator Connor Graydos set off on a social media blitz in an attempt to "rehabilitate" the image of his "energy" company, Enron, people managed to pull together enough clues to understand that Graydos was doing an extended satirical bit and prank.

As funny as it was seeing him get a pie thrown in his face and watching his company hand a parody product billed as an "at-home nuclear reactor" named the "Enron Egg" to Paris Hilton, we should have known that the joke was too good to be true.

Things came to a head this past week when Enron finally launched a meme coin (called "$ENRON") that they were, up until that point, vehemently denying having in the works.

Here's a recap of all the shenanigans that went into the troll campaign surrounding the Enron rebrand hoax over the last two months.

What Is The New Enron, And How Is It Connected To The 'Birds Aren't Real' Guys?

The "new" Enron started off as an elaborate performance art project orchestrated by Connor Gaydos, co-creator of the viral satirical movement Birds Aren't Real. Leveraging the notorious reputation of the original Enron – a symbol of corporate fraud and spectacular failure – the group began a media blitz in early December 2024, creating social media accounts that garnered millions of views with the cheeky tagline, "We're Back. Can We Talk?"

The company also shared links to a fully fleshed-out and seemingly legitimate website for the fake company, complete with the typical "Our Values," "Careers" and "Company Store" pages most corporations host.

In December 2024, news outlets like The Washington Post reported on Enron's relaunch by the College Company, which claimed to have bought the trademark for $275 in 2020. The new Enron website declared itself a "First Amendment protected parody" connected to Birds Aren't Real co-creator Connor Gaydos, with Ars Technica noting hints of a future crypto coin.

However, subsequent investigation revealed the $275 was merely a trademark registration fee for merchandise rights. A February 4th tweet by X / Twitter user @SHL0MS clarified that the group had only filed to incorporate a new "Enron Corporation" in Delaware and purchased a domain, indicating they did not actually own the original Enron's intellectual property or brand rights.

How Did Connor Gaydon's Enron Develop An Audience, And What's The 'Enron Egg'?

Connor Gaydos played the role of CEO, deliberately satirizing corporate redemption narratives by doing media interviews and even getting pie-faced, all part of the viral marketing campaign for the "new and improved" Enron.

In early December 2024, the X account @pubity posted a video of Connor Gaydos getting hit with a pie in the face on the streets of New York City, gathering over 28,000 likes and 14 million views in short order. A subsequent Community Note indicated that the video is purportedly publicity for a "crypto coin."

A week or so later, Connor Gaydos sat down with journalist Taylor Lorenz to give a joke interview in which he doubled down on his scummy CEO character.

All these appearances were a mere lead-up to Enron's "big announcement" in January 2025 when the satirical brand revealed the "Enron Egg," a fantastical and wholly made-up "home nuclear reactor," which promised to independently power a suburban home for 10 years.

On January 22nd, Enron posted a promotional image for the Egg product to Instagram, gathering over 4,000 likes in a week. Days later, on January 31st, Enron then posted a photo of Gaydos gifting Paris Hilton an Enron Egg, gathering over 2,000 likes on X in five days.

Why Are People Calling $Enron A Crypto Scam?

On February 4th, 2025, the @Enron account posted a video to X in which Gaydos announced the launch of $ENRON, a Solana meme coin he claimed would be the "fuel that powers our journey." The post gathered over 3,000 likes and 2 million views as it renewed interest in the elaborate prank yet again.

$ENRON is here. This will be the fuel that powers our journey. Join us now on Solana. CA: BktHEAc2WS8TQi2vmavn1rA4L1WJuwF3Vkk3DnwwARti pic.twitter.com/3TvYDDgfeA

— Enron (@Enron) February 4, 2025

People immediately started sniffing around to see if the coin seemed scammy, considering the (fake) company's vehement denial that they were planning to launch anything like it.

Veteran crypto scam exposer and YouTuber CoffeeZilla quoted the post warning investors against buying into $ENRON, calling it a shady plan with all the signs of a pump and dump.

It's unclear if Gaydon's overarching satire on corporate America ends with this final pièce de résistance, but investors can at least take solace in knowing that they received a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get scammed by Enron 20 years after the OG company went belly up.

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For the full history of the Enron Rebrand Hoax and Crypto Scam, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.