UCLA Researchers Turn to OnlyFans for Funding, Inspire Crypto Meme Coins

Researchers at UCLA have launched an OnlyFans account called OnlyMarms to supplement funding for their long-running yellow-bellied marmot study. The project, which has been tracking the animals since 1962, relies on traditional research grants that are becoming harder to secure.

According to Professor Daniel Blumstein, the idea came about as a joke from a graduate student who dubbed the account 'OnlyMarms.' The team leaned into the meme and promised subscribers 'uncensored marmot content,' which has generated around $4,000 so far.

The project needs between $75,000 to $100,000 per year to support graduate students and fieldwork. Blumstein noted that this is a far cry from how research projects were funded when he was in graduate school.

The OnlyMarms account has also attracted attention from the crypto community, with over 10 meme coins inspired by the project appearing on Solana's Pump.fun platform. However, it's unclear who created these tokens or whether they're connected to the UCLA research team.