Good day everyone,
I hope you are all well and having excellent day, welcome to CryptoGod-1’s blog on all things crypto. In this post I will be looking at the recent comments of Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin regarding celebrity memecoins.
Celebrity Memecoins
The co-founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, has recently noted his concern and criticism of the rise in celebrity-endorsed memecoins. He has noted the need for more meaningful and impactful projects in the cryptocurrency space while noting that a change in direction towards cryptocurrencies with substantive, long-term goals is required.
In a number of tweets on Wednesday the 5th of June 2024, along with a comprehensive blog post, Buterin noted that a crypto project needs to “have some kind of public-good goal” rather than enriching celebrities. He noted his dissatisfaction with celebrity meme coins and claimed they lack purpose and longevity. He stated there are alternative approaches which focus on serving public-good goals and creating engaging, lasting value for participants.
Buterin also noted that while making profits is important, this should be aligned with notable causes. Many of the celebrity-driven tokens which appear on the market are done so with pure financial returns at the fore and ahead of and meaningful objectives. These comments come after a wave of memecoins promoted by celebrities have flooded the market, and he argues they lack a clear purpose or vision for the future.
The recent launch of the popular memecoin "$MOTHER" on Solana by Iggy Azalea, an Australian rapper and OnlyFans star, has caused controversy. It has a market capitalisation of around $142 million and Azalea claims that her project will donate to curing koalas from chlamydia. This is a major disease which threatens the population of the endangered animal. She claimed to only hold 3% of the token's entire supply, however the top traders tab on dexscreener show multiple wallets profiting more than $1m collectively which has raised concerns over the legitimacy of the project.
However, some projects have been launched by scammers to take advantage of the celebrity memecoin boom and they launch their own projects carrying a celebrity’s name. Iggy Azalea has been accused of insider trading activity and of being a scam by some, so Buterin voicing his concerns should be of interest to all within the crypto community. Buterin noted “I’m feeling quite unhappy about ‘this cycle’s celebrity experimentation’ so far.”
Buterin went on to note that financialization should serve a worthy purpose, such as healthcare, open-source software, or art, rather than being an end in itself. “Financialization *as the final product*, 🤮,” was part of his tweet.
Buterin went on to contrast the celebrity meme coin trend with Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, who created "Stoner Cats" which went on to fund an actual animated show. These sort of public projects are what Buterin is aiming for from the celebrity memecoin trend taking place in Web3. He also went on to highlight racist concerns with some of the Solana meme coins, and also noted the general trend of these coins contributing little beyond price speculation. Buterin noted: “Even long-time Ethereum philosopher Polynya is very, very unhappy.”
He also noted examples of charity coins such as “GiveWell Inu” and “Fable of the Dragon Tyrant,” which, despite their flaws, aimed to support public goods. “GiveWell Inu” was created one and a half years ago to donate proceeds to GiveWell. Another coin, “Fable of the Dragon Tyrant,” supported cultural projects related to anti-aging research.
The Ethereum co-founder also brought up the topic of Robin Hood-style games, where people can take part in these meme coin games for a multitude of reasons, including the possibility of financial gain, the democratic nature of participation, and the fun involved. He did outline the flaws of these coins and the fact that they are far from perfect, but he also suggested a more positive-sum and long-lasting approach could be developed. A main talking point was the fact these games could be developed to ensure they are meaningful, fun, and can leave lower-income players economically better off. Axie Infinity was a prime example as the game helped to benefit some low-income users through the game’s play-to-earn feature.
Finally, Buterin stressed that these tokens need longevity while he also suggested that projects should be designed to last at least 10 years to ensure they provide lasting value and are not quickly forgotten. The ones which do fade and vanish quickly are often the ones which see the creator and / or founder profit the most.
Iggy Azelea did hit back, posting on 'X' to show her opinion of the thoughts of the Ethereum co-founder. Many of her fans also stood up for the Australian, with some calling out Buterin on "where do Ethereum GAS fees go?" However the biggest weapon on her side was when she hosted a 'Spaces' on 'X' where the rapper demonstrated her knowledge of Web3 and many were taken aback by just how informed she was. This helped to grow her community from the token hit $100m and beyond. The long-term future of the project remains unclear, but it will be interesting to see if this is just another fad in the memecoin sector, of if this will indeed provide long-term community benefits.
An interesting thread on 'X' regarding the $MOTHER coin is available here:
https://x.com/PixSorcerer/status/1799285580305662194
Have a great day.
Peace. CryptoGod-1.
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