Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao, the founder and former CEO of Binance, has voiced his concerns about the growing dominance of meme coins in the crypto market.
In his 26 November post on X, he acknowledged the fun side of meme coins but expressed concern, stating,
“I am not against memes, but meme coins are getting "a little" weird now. Let's build real applications using blockchain.”
He urged developers to shift their attention from hype-driven projects to those with real-world utility.
His statement has sparked renewed debate over the relevance of meme coins in a market that increasingly demands tokens with tangible, practical use cases.
While meme coins like Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) have captured attention, largely due to viral marketing and social media campaigns, their real-world value remains minimal.
These tokens thrive on fleeting investor interest driven by trends and influencer endorsements, but when the buzz fades, many investors find themselves with significant losses.
One X user commented in CZ’s post by mentioning Elon Musk as an example as he is known to be a supporter of meme coins, hence “it is very difficult to end this craze”.
CZ responded with his stance:
“Not trying to end anything. Everyone have their choose on what to invest or hold. Just encouraging more builders.”
The controversy surrounding the Solana-based meme coin deployer Pump.fun has brought additional scrutiny to the meme coin market.
The platform recently faced backlash after a livestream feature, intended to boost user engagement, was exploited in troubling ways.
Disturbing incidents, including a user threatening to take their own life if their token failed to reach a certain market cap, highlighted the dangers of irresponsible meme coin promotion.
The unsettling situation escalated when the individual allegedly acted on their threat and shared a video, reflecting the severe psychological toll that such tokens and their speculative nature can have on participants.
The influx of meme coins is not only damaging to individual investors but also poses a risk to the wider cryptocurrency market.
According to a study by CoinWire, meme coins promoted on platforms like X tend to lose over 90% of their value within just three months.
This volatility undermines trust in the crypto space, making it harder for legitimate projects focused on utility and innovation to gain traction.
As these speculative tokens gain popularity, they fuel skepticism among potential users and regulators, threatening to overshadow the development of blockchain applications with real-world impact.
CZ isn’t alone in his criticism.
During Consensus 2024, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has also called out meme coins, particularly tokens like Dogecoin.
In his words,
“I don’t think Dogecoin has been a good thing for the industry. [...] I don’t know what the use case is.”
This is due to its lack of utilities to solve real problems.
In a similar vein, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin voiced his concerns earlier this year, emphasising that financialisation of crypto projects should be justified by societal value.
In a June post on X, Buterin cited sectors like healthcare and open-source software as prime examples of areas where blockchain can bring about lasting, positive change.
These statements reflect a growing push within the crypto community for blockchain projects that aim to deliver solutions, rather than profit from speculative investments.
The true value of blockchain technology lies in its ability to address real-world problems, as demonstrated by initiatives like Axie Infinity and Fetch.ai.
Axie Infinity, for instance, allows players to earn income through gameplay, while Fetch.ai focuses on powering autonomous machine-to-machine interactions, bridging the gap between AI and blockchain.
These projects exemplify the potential of blockchain to transform industries and provide tangible benefits, offering a stark contrast to the empty promises made by meme coin creators.
Despite their lack of utility, meme coins continue to dominate the crypto market, with a total market capitalisation of over $125.3 billion, surpassing sectors like GameFi ($25.5 billion) and AI-focused tokens ($36.6 billion).
Source: Coingecko
This dominance highlights the influence of hype and social media over traditional investment metrics.
For some, meme coins serve as a form of entertainment or speculative gambling, offering a quick thrill and the potential for profit.
However, this speculative nature often leads to disappointing outcomes, particularly for those who fail to recognise the risks involved.
Not everyone is enamoured with the rise of meme coins.
Prominent crypto investor Nagato shared his frustration, calling for “a big cleanse” in the market.
Nagato remarked:
“Some top-tier memes are funny as hell and actually give people good vibes. But the remaining 99% are weird crap. Can’t wait for a big cleanse.”
His comment reflects growing dissatisfaction with the overwhelming number of meme coins that seem to lack any meaningful purpose, contrasting them with the small number of projects that genuinely bring joy or humour to the community.
Crypto analyst Dark Crypto Larp has also raised concerns about Binance’s listing policies.
As one of the leading centralized exchanges, Binance has come under fire for listing meme coins instead of tokens with genuine utility.
Larp responded to CZ’s X post:
“Unfortunately, that’s what Binance has been listing nowadays instead of coins with utilities/applications.”
Being upset by the current situation, he also mentioned:
“Wish you were back at the helm to steer the ship to the right direction.”
Despite the controversies, there remains a significant following for meme coins.
For many, tokens like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu represent a form of light-hearted entertainment, a way to participate in the crypto market without the pressure of serious investment.
Ramonos, a meme coin enthusiast, summed up the sentiment:
“The world is tired of reading thousands of pages of documentation. We just wanna vibe with a picture and gamble our money on it.”
This attitude highlights the fun, gambling-like aspect of meme coin trading, where the appeal lies more in the community and cultural status than in the underlying technology or value.
This gambling mentality is also evident in the hype surrounding Polymarket, a blockchain betting platform on Polygon.
Allegations of market manipulation, such as the pump-and-dump schemes that Binance has been accused of facilitating, further complicate the situation.
These practices involve inflating the price of a token only for it to collapse, leaving retail investors with heavy losses.
For traders, distinguishing between legitimate investments and speculative bubbles has become increasingly difficult.
The controversy surrounding meme coins is far from over.
While some view them as a fleeting trend, others see them as an opportunity for community-building and entertainment.
Regardless of where one stands on the issue, it’s clear that the conversation around meme coins will continue to evolve as the crypto market demands more responsible development and transparent listings.
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