Memecoins, attracting both fans and critics, play a significant role in the cryptocurrency market despite criticism and volatility.
Trump and Milei Coin Controversies
Discussions around memecoins gained a new spark after the launch of the $TRUMP coin by the US President. Despite an initial success, its value dropped dramatically, triggering broad criticism from both political and crypto communities. James Thurber, the founder of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, remarked on the "serious conflicts of interest" if the president's family business benefits from his cryptocurrency policies. Meanwhile, Argentina's President Javier Milei promoted the $LIBRA token, which turned out to be a suspicious project, leading to investors losing about $4 billion and initiating a legal investigation.
Discussions by Crypto Industry Leaders
Many influential figures like Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, and American investor Cathie Wood expressed concerns about the impact of memecoins. In a February post, Armstrong noted his skepticism about their popularity and cautioned users about investing in them. Meanwhile, Changpeng Zhao emphasized that memecoins might distract from using blockchain for creating real applications.
Q1 2025 Performance of Memecoins
According to CoinMarketCap data, memecoins show unstable results. Leading memecoins such as Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and others have significantly decreased in price over the past months, not bringing profits to investors. Despite this, the overall capitalization of memecoins remains substantial, continuing to attract interest among both investors and skeptics.
While recent setbacks raise questions about the sustainability of memecoins, their role in the market remains significant and continues to draw interest. Whatever their future holds, memecoins remain a part of the crypto world for now.