The recent surge of celebrity memecoin releases has left Vitalik Buterin dissatisfied. The co-founder of Ethereum believes the goal for a project should be that even if the tokens eventually become worthless, the average participant should still feel satisfied and happy to have been involved.
In a June 5 X post, Buterin said that financialization is only justified if it serves a purpose that brings value to society, such as improving healthcare, supporting open-source software and promoting art and creativity.
His statement came in response to a post about the possibility of Iggy Azalea’s Mother Iggy (MOTHER) token becoming the mother of this cycle’s celebrity experimentation if it breaks into sustainable value creation.
Celebrity tokens are digital assets or cryptocurrencies created and endorsed by celebrities. They leverage the celebrity’s popularity to drive interest and investment, often integrating with the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem.
Buterin’s “worthy” checklist
Buterin explained that Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis’ Stoner Cats project was far more respectable than anything seen from the 2024 celebrity memecoin trend. He said: “At least Stoner Cats funded an actual show, whereas the memecoins lack substance and purpose.”
Related: Iggy Azalea distances herself from alleged scammer’s $300K memecoin
The Ethereum founder provided a list of features a celebrity crypto project should have to earn his respect. As part of the list, Buterin said the project has to have a clear public benefit goal beyond just enriching the celebrity and early investors.
Regarding celebrity token projects, Buterin said he prefers those that have longevity, ideally lasting over 10 years, rather than ones that gain temporary popularity for a few months and are then forgotten. He said he values sustainable, long-term projects over short-lived trends.
Related: Celebrity memecoin promoter Sahil Arora banned by X
Buterin explained that a celebrity token should include engaging features beyond simple trading. Although he does not like token-voting decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), he said they at least provide activities and a sense of community for people, and the DAO shouldn’t ultimately dictate the agenda, but it should have some degree of influence.
Celebrity memecoins
Azalea launched the MOTHER token on May 28, continuing a weeks-long trend of celebrities launching memecoins on Solana. Caitlyn Jenner, rappers Soul Ja Boy and Rich The Kid, and adult content models Kazumi and Ivana Knöll have also recently released tokens.
Related: Iggy Azalea’s anti-scam plan: Burn her own coins
Some of these celebrities have complained after the launch that they were scammed by entrepreneur Sahil Arora. In response, Arora has denied any wrongdoing in the token launches. Azalea stated on May 28 that her token launch had nothing to do with Arora.
Afro-pop star Davido’s newly launched meme token, DAVIDO, also drew criticism from the Nigerian crypto community. Some community members have speculated that a token dump could be part of his plans.
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