- Mark Cuban admits that every meme coin is essentially a “rug pull in the works” because they have no real reason to stick around other than being fun.
- However, Cuban still sees value in Dogecoin, calling it “for fun and community” and saying he’s a proponent of it along with Bitcoin and Ethereum.
- Cuban likens investing in meme coins to gambling, saying it’s like flipping a coin or playing roulette where no one actually thinks it’s a great investment.
Mark Cuban, the Shark Tank star, is a famous supporter of Dogecoin, the original crypto meme coin. However, in a recent interview, the billionaire entrepreneur and investor said that he believes that every meme coin is a rug pull in the works, but that is also what makes them fun.
Meme Coins Explained
Meme coins are extremely volatile crypto tokens largely motivated by sensational hype as traders speculate on their price. They’re often based on internet memes, public figures, or world events, though we’ve seen some coins vault to prominence via hacked celebrity accounts or from a dev setting himself on fire. Ultimately, very little holds up the price of these assets. Moo Deng is just a cute baby hippo not the future of finance. Nobody should have any illusions about that.
Cuban on Meme Coins
“Every single meme coin is a rug pull in the works right? Because there’s no real reason for it to stick around other than the fun of it,” Mark Cuban told Farokh Sarmad of Rug Radio, Decrypt’s sister company. “Meme coins are all a game of musical chairs.”
Cuban has previously been a vocal supporter of Dogecoin, going as far as accepting Dogecoin as payment for merchandise purchases with the Dallas Mavericks, the NBA team that he previously owned. He still speaks positively of Dogecoin even now. In the interview, he discussed the various major coins and their perceived benefits, whether it’s Bitcoin as a store of value and hedge against fiat currency or Ethereum with the capabilities of smart contracts to power decentralized apps (dApps). But in his eyes, there’s value to Dogecoin too.
Meme Coin Trading
Part of the game in meme coins is to time it to see if you’re going to make or lose money, Cuban explained. “It’s like flipping a coin, it’s like playing roulette. Nobody is so stupid to think this is a great investment—even if they all go on Reddit or Telegram and say ‘This is the best meme coin ever! To the moon, baby!'”
He draws parallels between meme coin trading and gambling—a potentially attractive prospect in the US given that some states ban gambling. On meme coin factory Pumpfun, the chance of a token launching beyond a $69,000 market cap hovers around 15%. This is comparatively low in contrast to most casino games, although traders can still potentially make money on coins that never reach that modest level.
“I’m not going to lie, I look at them too,” Cuban admitted of meme coins, mocking his own mindset when trading. “Should I buy some? No, don’t be stupid. Don’t be stupid. But you know, it’s like flipping a coin and hoping it comes up. It’s just a game.”
Conclusion
While Cuban still believes in Dogecoin’s potential, he acknowledges the highly speculative nature of meme coins that have flooded the market. He compares trading them to gambling and believes their staying power is limited, even as he remains tempted to try his luck. Ultimately, Cuban sees investing in meme coins as more of a game than a serious investment strategy.
