Despite differing opinions, Vitalik Buterin has defended meme coins, arguing that they have real use cases in daily life and providing seven reasons to support his stance.
A user on X questioned the sector’s usefulness beyond entertainment and monetizing attention.
Meme Coins Attacked On Use Case Metrics
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin defends the idea that meme coins have practical uses in daily life. He challenges a bold assertion by 0xDesigner, a user on X (formerly Twitter), who argued that meme coins should not be a dominant narrative in the crypto space.
“I understand why meme coins can have a moment, but how is it still the dominant narrative?…there are no compelling visions of how they extend into or improve everyday life,” said 0xDesiner in a post, adding that all of my meme coin-related design concepts have felt forced.
According to the user, meme coins are sucking the energy out of crypto. Unstoppable Domains founder Mathew Gould expanded 0xDesiner’s idea, saying meme coins and ICOs seem closely related and noting the regulatory issues.
“I can imagine a meme token or ICO that raised money for a fashion brand, media company, nonprofit cause, or even a long shot startup idea. Issue is regulatory,” Gould stated.
Read More: What Are Meme Coins? 7 Hot Meme Coins and Altcoins that are Trending in 2024
Other criticisms include the view that meme coins are a distraction with no real use cases. Some argue that inflation plays a huge role in this trend, as people struggle to afford everyday expenses and turn to gambling on meme coins in hopes of winning big and never having to work again.
Vitalik Buterin’s 7 Reasons For Meme Coin Relevance
Vitalik Buterin came to the sector’s defense. He listed seven reasons he believes meme coins are value-adding to daily life.
- Zk reputation/identity/credentials. Communities or online spaces could use meme coins as a form of reputation or identity.
- P2P cross-border payments. Individuals could use meme coins informally for cross-border payments, even if they are not specifically designed for this purpose. This is for small cross-border transactions due to their low value and easy transferability.
- Decentralized social. Decentralized social platforms could integrate meme coins to reward content creators and incentivize engagement. This is akin to tipping or rewarding popular posts with tokens.
- Prediction markets. People could use meme coins in prediction markets to make bets or participate in forecasting events.
- Privacy. Meme coins might incorporate privacy features for users to make transactions anonymously with enhanced privacy protections.
- Enterprise apps via zk validiums. Meme coins could be integrated into zk validiums (a type of Layer 2 scaling solution) for certain niche use cases or experimental projects.
- Zk + censorship resistant voting. Governance mechanisms or voting systems within meme coin communities for decision-making processes or to engage coin holders in shaping the project’s direction.
Moreover, Buterin recently engaged with the celebrity meme coin trend. He disapproved of the “financialization as a final product” premise driving many meme tokens.
“I’m feeling quite unhappy about with ‘this cycle’s celebrity experimentation,’ so far,” he noted. “‘Financialization as a means toward an end’ I can respect if the end is worthy — healthcare, open source software, art, etc.”
Read More: 7 Hot Meme Coins and Altcoins that are Trending in 2024
In hindsight, Buterin defended meme coins in March, explaining how they can create value. He listed the societal benefits of meme coins amid criticism, envisioning them as tools for funding public projects and supporting causes.
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