Vitalik Buterin Not Happy With Celebrities’ Memecoin Experiments

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has expressed his concerns about the recent wave of meme coins backed by celebrities, emphasizing the importance of crypto projects to have lasting value beyond mere token trading.

Vitalik Voices Dissatisfaction of Celebrity-Backed Meme Coin

In a comment on the social media platform X, the Ethereum co-founder voiced his dissatisfaction with the trend of celebrity-backed meme coins as most of them are infamous for dumping. 

His comment comes in response to a post by Chris Burniske, co-founder of the venture firm Placeholder, where he talked about the recently launched meme coin Mother Iggy (MOTHER) by Australian rapper and model Iggy Azalea, which has sparked considerable debate and interest in the crypto community.

According to Burniske, if MOTHER can create any sustainable value, it could be the “mother” of the celebrity meme coins. In response to the post, Buterin expressed his displeasure with meme coins associated with celebrities, highlighting that financialization can be respectable when it serves a meaningful end however he claims that the current trend seems to lack substance.  

Additionally, he contrasted the current trend with past projects like Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis’s Stoner Cats, which he said was vastly more honourable. 

Vitalik Outlines Features of Meaningful Crypto Project

Furthermore, the Ethereum co-founder outlined various aspects a celebrity crypto project should have to deserve his respect. He mentioned public good goals stating that projects should go beyond enriching celebrities and early adopters. This could be an art project or a charitable cause. 

He talked about engaging mechanics saying that a project should go beyond just trading a token by offering engaging activities, such as token voting DAOs because it will allow participants to have a meaningful impact. He also said that memecoins should aim to last for more than ten years rather than being projects that are forgotten after a few months. 

“Have a project where even if eventually all tokens involved go to zero, the average person who participated is happy to have done so. Regular businesses and charities accomplish this goal all the time! It’s a low bar, but things we build should meet this bar as well,” he said.