Vitalik Buterin calls for ‘higher quality’ meme coins

“I want to see higher quality fun projects that contribute positively to the ecosystem and the world around them (and not just by ‘bringing in users’) get more mindshare,” Buterin wrote on Friday, March 29. “At the least, more good memecoins than bad ones, ideally those that support public goods instead of just enriching insiders and creators.”

Buterin also highlighted the potential for meme coins to serve as a third form of funding technology, catering to various societal causes (i.e., an AntiCancerCoin or ClimateCoin).

He further expressed concerns about the current surge in meme coins. There are currently more than 340 meme coins in circulation, according to CoinGape. Typically, these meme coins are just hyped by founders and insiders and have no real value to the general public.

Some of these meme coins even have openly racist elements within certain projects, particularly in the Solana ecosystem, Buterin noted.

Buterin expressed his concerns about how meme coins are dominating discussions within the crypto space in 2024. He noted their history, dating back to Dogecoin in 2015, and how they were a prominent topic during the 2020-2021 season. However, this time around, their resurgence is causing unease, as they lack innovation and substance.

Despite meme coin shortcomings, Buterin noted a successful example where he gifted half the supply of the Dogelon Mars token to the Methuselah Foundation, fostering a positive relationship between the foundation and the Dogelon Mars community, effectively converting ELON into a charity coin.

In exploring solutions, Buterin emphasized the importance of creating meaningful and engaging games within the cryptocurrency space.

“If the goal is to satisfy people’s desire to have fun, we should be making not simple copy-paste coins but rather more complicated and interesting games,” he said, advocating for the development of immersive experiences akin to “World of Warcraft” that offer both entertainment and utility.