Memecoins are considered the the major glue that keeps growing crypto communities together. With the massive potential to grow by multiple percentages in a relatively short time, their accompanying hype can be explained. However, despite the success of Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB) and BONK, not everyone is sold on the growing hype.
Diverse Views on Memecoin Adoption
Memecoins are becoming a real trend that prominent Layer-1 blockchains are beginning to pay attention to. For instance, Fantom (FTM) creator, Andre Cronje has recently unveiled a framework that potential memecoin creators need to follow.
The push was inspired by the need to drive the community-binding culture that these asset classes offer.
Unlike industry leaders warming up to memecoins, Eddy Lazzarin, the Chief Techology Officer (CTO) at a16z Crypto is an exception. In a recent post on the X app, he voiced his concern on the memecoin adoption trend. His post came as a direct response to an earlier post from Compound VC’s Michael Dempsey who highlighted the misplaced role VCs are playing in promoting memecoin growth.Â
Dempsey said memecoins now stirs the broad disillusionment of builders at a rate bigger than during the bear market. Jumping on the conversation, Lazzarin noted that memecoins generally undermines the long term vision that is keeping the industry healthy. He said memecoins are not also technically attractive.
Besides undermining the long-term vision of crypto that has kept so many of us in the space, memecoins aren't very technically interesting.
It shouldn't be a surprise that they're not attractive to builders.
— Eddy Lazzarin 🟠🔠(@eddylazzarin) April 24, 2024
Many things generally separate investors from builders but the most common is the need to make money. As reported earlier by Bloomberg, American venture capital firms are also joining the memecoin investing bandwagon. This move shows the perception is shifting remarkably and the underlying goal in relation to memecoins have shifted across the board.
The Dogecoin and Shiba Inu Model
Tens of memecoins are launched in the blockchain ecosystem every day. Only a handful of these generally get to go mainstream. Despite these relatively smaller fraction, the scams and rugpulls associated with these asset classes is enormous.
The surviving new entrants generally model their growth as a copy of Dogecoin or Shiba Inu’s. These two cryptocurrencies have defied the norms with massive growth rates. While the DOGE has jumped as high as 174760.54% from its low price of $0.00008547, SHIB has soared by 30505669.86% from a $0.00000000008165 low.
With crypto communities nursing such massive growth ambitions and its possibility, the memecoin hype might be here for much longer.
