Scientists Turn to OnlyFans and a Meme Coin to Keep Decades-Long Marmot Study Alive

In June, researchers studying yellow-bellied marmots at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) near Crested Butte, Colorado, launched an OnlyFans account called OnlyMarms to solicit donations after federal science funding was slashed by the Donald Trump administration. The account posts non-sexual videos of marmots in their natural habitat. Simultaneously, an anonymous community on the Solana blockchain created a meme-coin named $OnlyMarms, directing all transaction fees to the project.

The Guardian

The marmot monitoring program began in 1962 under Kenneth Armitage of the University of Kansas and has become one of the world’s longest continuous wildlife studies. In 2026, the Trump administration froze more than $700 million in National Science Foundation grants and dismissed the agency’s 22-member oversight board, reshaping research priorities toward artificial intelligence and robotics. These actions threatened the RMBL’s funding, prompting the unconventional fundraising effort.

The Guardian

• OnlyFans contributions: ? $6,000.

The Guardian

• $OnlyMarms memecoin: ? $88,000 raised in two weeks.

The Guardian

• Combined total: > $100,000, sufficient to extend the study for an additional year.

The Guardian

Project co-lead Julien Martin (University of Ottawa) described the influx of internet-culture money as “incredible” and a relief for the team’s continuity. He noted that while the funds buy short-term stability, they are not a substitute for sustained government support. Martin also highlighted climate-related observations: marmots have gained body mass as summers lengthen and winters shorten, and a recent record lack of snowfall caused an unprecedented die-off because insufficient snow insulation led many to freeze during hibernation.

The Guardian

• “Our goal isn’t really to sexualise the marmots,” — Daniel Blumstein, a professor at UCLA

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• “It’s been a crazy last two weeks, it’s been incredible to see and it’s a relief that the research can continue for another year,” — Julien Martin, a University of Ottawa researcher

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• “We’ve seen them increase in body mass as the summers get longer and the winters get shorter – they are getting fatter,” — Julien Martin, a University of Ottawa researcher

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• “The snow cover arrived so late and the extent was so small this past winter. The marmots need the snow as a layer of insulation as they hibernate in their burrows, so without this many of them just froze to death.” — Julien Martin, a University of Ottawa researcher

The Guardian

• “It worked for us because we were the first. But it has been nice to see crypto be used for good.” — Julien Martin, a University of Ottawa researcher

The Guardian

These statements illustrate the researchers’ motivations, the surprising success of the fundraising, and their cautious optimism about crypto’s potential role in supporting scientific work.

The Guardian