When a cryptocurrency trade lists its first altcoin, it units itself up for an countless cycle of launching memecoins, warns a Bitcoin-only establishment government.
“The minute an trade provides one non-Bitcoin token, they’re signing as much as be on the eternally hamster wheel of memecoins,” River Monetary CEO Alex Leishman stated in a March 29 X put up. “It is senseless to record ETH when you don’t record the tokens issued on ETH, and the identical goes for Solana,” Leishman stated.
River has no real interest in constructing a “profitable crypto on line casino”
Leishman stated whereas there are a lot of “profitable crypto casinos,” he has no real interest in constructing one. River Monetary is a Bitcoin-only monetary establishment specializing in shopping for and promoting Bitcoin (BTC). A number of firms have opted for the Bitcoin-only method, together with Swan Bitcoin, Bull Bitcoin, and decentralized trade Bisq.
Leishman claimed that multi-asset buying and selling platforms prioritize short-term hypothesis over wealth accumulation:
“The on line casino enterprise mannequin is constructed round maximal extraction from prospects, and the Bitcoin-only mannequin is concentrated on serving to folks construct long-term wealth.”
Critics have voiced this level earlier than, even throughout the memecoin uptrend in early 2024. In April 2024, A16z chief expertise officer Eddy Lazzarin stated that memecoins hamper the long-term imaginative and prescient of crypto that has stored so most of the authentic builders within the area.
“At greatest, it seems like a dangerous on line casino,” Lazzarin stated.
The memecoin market cap is down 27.94% over the previous 12 months. Supply: CoinMarketCap
The general memecoin market cap has taken a major downturn for the reason that starting of 2025. Since Jan. 1, the memecoin market cap has slumped nearly 49% to $48.49 billion on the time of publication, in accordance to CoinMarketCap information.
Nevertheless, whereas altcoins have traditionally been extra risky than Bitcoin, providing them alongside Bitcoin has been a profitable transfer for crypto exchanges and brokers.
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On Feb. 12, Robinhood, which gives a number of cryptocurrencies to its prospects, reported a 700% year-over-year surge in This fall 2024 cryptocurrency income.
Some merchants appear to interpret a memecoin itemizing on an trade as validation of its credibility. Among the many 15 memecoins listed by crypto trade Binance in 2024, 12 noticed vital will increase in worth after going stay on the trade, pseudonymous onchain analyst Ai_9684xtpa stated in November.
CoinGecko founder Bobby Ong lately speculated that the memecoin market is likely to be headed towards an “excessive case of energy legislation,” the place 99.99% fail and some rise to the highest and endure.
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