- Vitalik Buterin criticizes celebrity memecoins for lacking purpose and substance
- Buterin prefers projects that have a clear public benefit goal beyond enriching celebrities and early investors
- Buterin values sustainable long-term projects over short-lived trends
Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, has criticized recent celebrity memecoin releases for their lack of substance and purpose. Buterin believes crypto projects should aim to provide value beyond just enriching celebrities and early investors.
Buterin Responds to Post About Iggy Azalea’s Mother Iggy Token
Buterin’s criticism came in response to a post speculating that Iggy Azalea’s Mother Iggy (MOTHER) token could lead the celebrity crypto trend toward sustainable value creation.
Buterin Provides Checklist for Worthy Celebrity Tokens
According to Buterin, a respectable celebrity token should:
- Have a clear public benefit beyond enriching the celebrity
- Ideally last 10+ years rather than being short-lived
- Include engaging features beyond just trading
- Allow some community influence without dictating the agenda
Buterin said he respects Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis’ Stoner Cats NFT project for funding an actual show, unlike recent meme coins.
Overview of Recent Celebrity Memecoin Launches
Azalea launched MOTHER on May 28, continuing a trend of celebrities launching memecoins on Solana. Caitlyn Jenner, rappers Soulja Boy and Rich The Kid, and adult models have also released tokens recently.
Some celebrities have complained they were scammed by entrepreneur Sahil Arora regarding their token launches. Arora denies wrongdoing. Azalea said her launch had nothing to do with Arora.
There has been criticism of Davido’s new meme token for potentially planning a token dump.
Conclusion
Buterin believes crypto projects should aim to provide real value and sustainability rather than capitalizing on hype and celebrity endorsement. He has outlined characteristics for respectable celebrity token projects.
