Latest news with #memecoins
Yahoo
02-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Solana Co-Founder Slams Memecoins And NFTs In Clash With Base Lead Developer: 'Digital Slop'
Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko is condemning memecoins and non-fungible tokens again. 'I've said this for years. Memecoins and NFTs are digital slop and have no intrinsic value,' he said Sunday on X, even though these tokens have driven revenue on Solana over the past year, as its low cost and high throughput have ironically made it the preferred venue for trading them. Yakovenko compared the tokens to in-game loot boxes, which have no real-world value but see players spend billions of dollars annually. Loot boxes have also been criticized for having similar mental effects to gambling and encouraging 'pay-to-win' dynamics. Don't Miss: Accredited Investors: Grab Pre-IPO Shares of the AI Company Powering Hasbro, Sephora & MGM— — no wallets, just price speculation and free paper trading to practice different strategies. Yakovenko's most recent critique of memecoins and NFTs followed a heated debate with Jesse Pollak, lead developer of the Coinbase-incubated (NASDAQ:COIN) Ethereum Layer 2 chain Base, over whether the network's so-called 'contentcoins' are any different from memecoins launched on Solana's Pollak rejected the idea of contentcoins being similar to memecoins as a 'logical fallacy.' 'The content itself is valuable,' Pollak said. 'Ads are a way to monetize that value. But the content itself is valuable. Just like a painting is fundamentally valuable, regardless of whether you charge people at the museum to see it.' But Yakovenko suggested that contentcoins and memecoins offered no value beyond speculation. He pointed out that contentcoin holders had no claims to future ad revenue from the content. He also said they faced the risk of being dumped on by early adopters. Trending: Grow your IRA or 401(k) with Crypto – . Contentcoins Contentcoins are tokens that represent a single piece of digital content. Base launched the concept in April, hoping to catalyze an on-chain creator economy on the network. But many have criticized contentcoins as being only semantically different from memecoins. The Base team had also received backlash from cryptocurrency community members for its rollout of the concept without any explanations, which led to losses for several users. At the time, Base's official X account posted an image with the caption 'Coinbase is for everyone,' following up with another post, stating 'coined it.' The follow-up post contained a link to Zora, a Coinbase-backed decentralized social network that tokenizes content, directing users to purchase a token based on the initial post. Many did, and the token's value surged to $17 million. But holders quickly found themselves holding the bag as the token's value crashed 96% to as low as $720, crash came as Base launched more coins, dividing user attention and sparking confusion. Instead of issuing an apology in the wake of the chaos and backlash, Pollak doubled down. 'Someone has to normalize putting all of our content onchain,' he said. And I'm not afraid for it to be us. Why? Because in the wake of the chaos, we'll normalize the behavior and create a better future for creators.' Base developers have since made contentcoins a central piece of the network's appeal. On July 16, Coinbase rolled out Base App, a rebrand of Coinbase Wallet, featuring a social feed powered by Farcaster, a decentralized social network protocol, and Zora. Read Next: A must-have for all crypto enthusiasts: . Image: Shutterstock This article Solana Co-Founder Slams Memecoins And NFTs In Clash With Base Lead Developer: 'Digital Slop' originally appeared on Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
31-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Got $2,500? Avoid These 3 Cryptocurrencies and Don't Look Back
Key Points Your investments need to have a plausible mechanism for gaining in value. Hope is not a mechanism. The same goes for unimplemented plans or promises. 10 stocks we like better than Dogecoin › If the story behind a crypto coin boils down to a punchline, a cult of personality, or a poorly defined promise to be part of the future of finance, it's time to consider walking away. Over the long term, markets reward scarce assets that solve real problems, not social media spectacles. Today's crypto landscape is littered with distractions, but three names in particular stand out, and largely for all the wrong reasons: Dogecoin, (CRYPTO: DOGE) Shiba Inu, (CRYPTO: SHIB) and Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA). Two of these names offer plenty of excitement, but none offers a convincing potential for risk-adjusted payoff for patient investors, and they aren't worth investing even a moderate sum of $2,500. Memes often don't age very well Memes can move prices, but they rarely build durable value, and this issue is front and center for meme coins for obvious reasons. Dogecoin's branding relies on a combination of jokes from yesteryear and celebrity whims. Posts from Elon Musk -- the self-proclaimed "Dogefather" -- have historically had a habit of sparking double-digit moves. Yet its fundamentals remain absent. In fact, the few fundamentals that there are to analyze, like its circulating supply, are unfavorable, as the coin is inflationary by its design, meaning that new supply is steadily issued. That unlimited inflation puts a ceiling on scarcity, which is exactly the opposite situation of what long-horizon investors need. Similarly, Shiba Inu's pitch isn't scarcity either, despite what some would tell you. Holders trumpet high token burning rates, but even the most intensive recent burning periods wiped out less than 0.00002% of supply, and the price still sagged. There's no reliable mechanism to burn tokens built into the coin, so all burning is voluntary. Would you be willing to literally light your money on fire to prop up a token's reputation? Probably not, and very few others are consistently willing to do it either. Could either meme coin go "to the moon" again? Sure, anything can happen, and in the long run, probably there will be a confluence of sentiment and permissive macroeconomic and liquidity conditions that will make these coins run, at least temporarily. But buying these assets and hoping for that outcome is not a prudent use of your capital, and your odds of successfully timing the market are low. Cardano is having trouble gaining ground Cardano is basically the opposite of a meme coin in that it attempts to ground its tech development cycle heavily in peer-reviewed research, community consensus-building, and incremental upgrades that don't break functionality. It's a serious blockchain that's built and maintained by skilled developers. On paper, the chain looks sleek. It's faster and cheaper than Ethereum on average. But in practice, usage is thin. The chain hosts barely $361 million in total value locked (TVL). Its stablecoins are, by the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector's standards, barely liquid, with just $32 million in value. Its number of active wallets demonstrates the impact of the issue here. Roughly 28,000 addresses moved the coin in the 24 hours ending at noon on July 25, a rounding error next to Ethereum's daily user counts. Meanwhile, the DeFi share of Cardano's total value hovers around 0.3% of the sector -- it's practically nobody's first, second, or third choice for developing or using DeFi applications. Nothing inherently prevents Cardano from catching up over the next few years, and its roadmap is full of scaling and governance milestones that might help it along. The problem is time. Thanks to the chain's enduring focus on carefully planned and largely democratically conceived and community-implemented upgrades, each potential upgrade slips further into the future as researchers pursue perfection, and rival chains keep hoovering up developers, liquidity, and attention. Investors betting on a Cardano renaissance must thus assume competitors will stand still, and they almost never do. If anything, they've lapped the chain in critical segments like on-chain AI agents and stablecoins, not to mention many others. In theory, the network's academic rigor could pay off years down the line. In practice, capital tied up for "the next couple of years" earns no yield and faces real opportunity cost while faster networks already monetize users. In short, Cardano is still searching for product-market fit. If you've got only $2,500 to allocate, look for assets that are scarce, widely used, and generating revenue. Cardano, Dogecoin, and Shiba Inu aren't there yet, and they may never be. Should you buy stock in Dogecoin right now? Before you buy stock in Dogecoin, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Dogecoin wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $633,452!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,083,392!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,046% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 183% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 29, 2025 Alex Carchidi has positions in Ethereum. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Ethereum. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Got $2,500? Avoid These 3 Cryptocurrencies and Don't Look Back was originally published by The Motley Fool
Yahoo
28-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Meme Coins Reflect Crypto Market Maturation, Says Drift Protocol's Cindy Leow
Meme coins represent a maturing crypto market, enabling users to rally behind narratives and launch tokens from scratch, according to Cindy Leow, co-founder of Drift Protocol, a Solana (CRYPTO: SOL)-based decentralized exchange (DEX). In an interview with Benzinga, Leow highlighted the sustained relevance of meme coins, noting their role in showcasing the ability to create and trade tokens organically, despite recent market slowdowns. She emphasized that meme coin cycles within broader market cycles signal a growing sophistication in decentralized finance. Leow discussed Drift's significant growth, with on-chain perpetual futures (perps) volume increasing fivefold in the past three weeks, driven by improved user experience (UX) and liquidity. She noted that past hurdles to on-chain perps adoption, such as onboarding and UX issues, have largely been resolved, making trading on DEXs comparable to centralized exchanges (CEXs). "The experience of trading on-chain is a lot better now than even a couple of months ago," Leow said, underscoring Drift's advancements in matching CEX performance. A key factor in Drift's success is its commitment to Solana's Layer 1 (L1) blockchain, which Leow praised for its trustless and verifiable nature, ensuring funds remain secure and accessible. "Censorship resistance is one of the biggest things," she said, emphasizing the reliability of L1s over CEXs, which can be shut down abruptly. Drift's Just-In-Time (JIT) liquidity model, an intent-based protocol, enhances trading efficiency by allowing market makers to fill orders directly, bypassing gas costs and improving matching speed. Leow also addressed the role of meme coins in driving perps volume on DEXs, describing them as a sustainable trend. "There will always be room for meme coins because it shows that people have an ability to rally behind a narrative," she said. Also Read: However, she acknowledged a recent dip in meme coin performance, attributing it to market maturation rather than a decline in interest. On real-world hedging, Leow argued that on-chain derivatives are already facilitating significant hedging activity. Drift's cross-margin system allows users to leverage assets like SOL or USDC (CRYPTO: USDC) as collateral to hedge positions, such as shorting SOL perps to maintain neutral exposure. She predicted growth in basis trading as more hedgers enter DeFi. Regarding competition, Leow favored generalized L1s like Solana over app-specific chains like dYdX (CRYPTO: DYDX) on Cosmos (CRYPTO: ATOM), citing Solana's upcoming Block Assembly Marketplace (BAM) for enabling app-chain customizability within an L1. She also noted challenges in expanding on-chain options trading due to its over-the-counter (OTC) nature but suggested intent-based protocols could drive future success. Drift's focus on cross-collateralization, allowing any token as collateral, has boosted its total value locked (TVL) and trading volume, particularly in bull markets. Unlike competitors like Zeta Markets, which pivoted away from Solana, Leow said Drift's dedication to the ecosystem has ensured its longevity. She emphasized filtering for organic retail flow to maintain quality volume, avoiding toxic flows from excessive incentives. Leow predicted that perps liquidity will consolidate around a few superchains with established infrastructure and liquidity, dismissing fragmented multi-chain models. "People will consolidate towards the chain that already has dollars, that has backers," she said. Read Next: Image: Shutterstock UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? EMEREN GROUP (SOL): Free Stock Analysis Report This article Meme Coins Reflect Crypto Market Maturation, Says Drift Protocol's Cindy Leow originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Bloomberg
25-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Trump Media's Bitcoin Options Trade Opens Quicker Path to Profit
The Trump family has pushed into just about every corner of the crypto industry, from a decentralized finance project to memecoins and Bitcoin mining to exchange-traded funds. Its latest foray provides yet another route to gain from the boom in digital assets — potentially in a bigger and faster way.
Yahoo
24-07-2025
- Yahoo
What are meme coins? Explained
What are meme coins? Explained originally appeared on TheStreet. Would you invest in something that started as a joke? That's exactly what millions have done — pouring billions into meme coins, a quirky corner of crypto that has evolved from internet punchlines into market disruptors. But are meme coins smart bets, digital pranks, or something else entirely? Let's break it down. What exactly is a meme coin? A meme coin is a cryptocurrency inspired by internet culture, jokes, or viral trends. Unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum, which were designed to solve major financial or technical problems, meme coins usually launch with little to no utility. They're not trying to reinvent money — they're often just trying to go is the poster child of this trend. Created in 2013 to parody the crypto boom, Dogecoin featured a Shiba Inu dog from a popular meme. But what started as satire exploded into something far more real, with Dogecoin eventually hitting a $90 billion market cap — all thanks to internet momentum and some high-profile tweets from Elon Musk. Then came the imitators. Shiba Inu, dubbed the 'Doge killer,' made waves in 2020. It briefly cracked the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap. After that, the floodgates opened — with coins like Pepe, Floki, and Dogelon Mars entering the fray. Meme coins: not all created equal Broadly, meme coins fall into two camps. First, there are non-utility meme coins — tokens that thrive purely on community hype and speculation. Dogecoin and Shiba Inu are great examples. There's no major product behind them, but they've built cult-like there are utility meme coins, which start with memes but evolve into actual projects. Floki is one of the most notable. It's developing a metaverse game called Valhalla, a crypto education hub called Floki University, and tools for NFTs and DeFi. Why do meme coins matter? They may sound silly, but meme coins play a surprising role in crypto's growth. For starters, they're onboarding tools. According to Gemini, many people buy meme coins before touching Bitcoin or Ethereum. In the U.S., 31% of crypto users who own both started with meme coins. Globally, 94% of meme coin holders also own other crypto — proving these tokens are often a gateway. Second, they demonstrate community power. Meme coins don't need VCs or Wall Street. They thrive on Twitter threads, Reddit memes, and group chats. That's a powerful — and sometimes dangerous — they test the boundaries of crypto. Meme coins are chaotic, decentralized, and culture-driven — stretching what digital assets can represent. But there's a dark side It's not all fun and gains. Meme coins are high-risk, high-volatility, and often rife with scams. Most of them crash. Some never even launch. Rug pulls are common. If you're getting in, get in with eyes wide open. So, are meme coins a joke? Yes — and also a phenomenon reshaping how a generation thinks about money, memes, and markets. What are meme coins? Explained first appeared on TheStreet on Jul 23, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jul 23, 2025, where it first appeared. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
