Will celebrity-endorsed memecoins undermine the true purpose behind the launch of cryptocurrencies?
- Celebrities like Iggy Azalea launched memecoins, showcasing widespread crypto adoption among public figures. Vitalik Buterin critiques celebrity memecoins, but community support remains strong.
In the year 2024, the trend of memecoins has gained considerable traction, with celebrities like Iggy Azalea, the American rapper, joining the fray by launching their own tokens, such as MOTHER IGGY on Solana [SOL].
Caitlyn Jenner, rappers Soul Ja Boy and Rich The Kid have also recently released their crypto tokens.
Buterin voices dissatisfaction!
However, Ethereum [ETH] co-founder Vitalik Buterin expressed discontent with the surge of celebrity-endorsed memecoins and emphasized the necessity for more relevant projects in the crypto sphere.
In his recent X post, Buterin noted,
“I’m feeling quite unhappy about with ‘this cycle’s celebrity experimentation’ so far. ‘Financialization as a means toward an end’, I can respect if the end is worthy (healthcare, open source software, art, etc).’”
He further added,
“Ashton and Mila’s Stoner Cats was vastly more honorable than anything we’ve seen from this 2024 celebrity memecoin era – at least there was an actual show being funded. How do we push things in a better direction?”
Here, Buterin discusses “Stoner Cats,” a webcomic by Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, lauded for its remarkable success in 2023. The SEC then charged the creators for an unregistered offering of NFTs. As per an SEC filling,
“Stoner Cats sold its entire supply of NFTs in just 35 minutes, generating proceeds of over $8 million, most of which were then resold – not held as collectibles — in the secondary market within months.”
Buterin’s concerns regarding celebrities’ growing interest in memecoins raise a critical question: Is the future of cryptocurrency misdirected?
Buterin’s advice to scale celebrity-backed memecoins
In response, the Ethereum co-founder recommended various strategies to enhance celebrity-backed crypto ventures, focusing on public benefit, engaging content, and project sustainability. He suggested,
Source: Vitalik Buterin/X
Memecoin craze despite crictsism
On the community front, reactions appear largely supportive of memecoins, as observed by researcher Gumshoe in their recent X post.
“Iggy went from being called a scammer to having Vitalik and Ethereum OGs discussing the celebrity memecoin meta in a week. Pretty amazing if you ask me.”
Despite Buterin’s expressed concerns about memecoins, which stemmed from a tweet by Chris Burniske, Mother Iggy experienced a notable 40% surge in the past 24 hours, while Ethereum saw a more modest increase of 1.16% at the time of writing.
All in all, ‘Aden | The Wolf of X’ put it best when he said,
“#Memecoin season 2024 unstoppable.”
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