Sickening Tribute: Crypto Coin Launched to 'Honour' D.C. Anti-Semitic Killer Elias Rodriguez

In a chilling blend of digital finance and extremism, a cryptocurrency named $ELIAS was launched on the Solana blockchain as a “tribute” to Elias Rodriguez, the 31-year-old Chicago man accused of murdering two Israeli Embassy staffers outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., on May 21, 2025, according to NewsBreak. The meme coin, created within six hours of the attack, has sparked widespread condemnation for glorifying a terrorist act that killed Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, a couple planning to get engaged in Jerusalem. Surveillance footage captured Rodriguez firing 21 rounds from a 9mm handgun, continuing to shoot even as the victims collapsed, before he entered the museum and was arrested, shouting “Free, free Palestine!”

Federal prosecutors charged Rodriguez with two counts of first-degree murder, murder of foreign officials, causing death with a firearm, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, offenses that could carry the death penalty. The $ELIAS coin, which attracted over 550 buyers, surged to a market cap of $368,000 within hours but plummeted to $24,000 by week’s end, reflecting its volatile and controversial nature. Critics, including Jewish advocacy groups and political leaders, decried the coin as a vile exploitation of violence for profit and internet notoriety, highlighting a disturbing trend of monetizing hate through decentralized platforms.

The attack, investigated as a hate crime and act of terrorism, prompted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to bolster security at diplomatic missions worldwide. Rodriguez’s father, Eric Rodriguez, a Veterans Affairs employee and anti-Trump activist, drew scrutiny after being honoured by Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.) at President Trump’s March 2025 congressional address. The $ELIAS coin’s launch has intensified calls for stricter regulation of cryptocurrency markets to curb the glorification of terrorism. This convergence of radical ideology, cold-blooded murder, and digital speculation has been condemned as a grotesque milestone in online extremism, underscoring the urgent need to address the intersection of technology and hate.