Binance founder Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao criticized the meme coin ecosystem on Tuesday, calling it “weird.” He suggested developing real-world applications with blockchain technology instead. Zhao’s comments come at a time when selling pressure on meme coins is increasing, with popular meme coins like DOGE, SHIB, PEPE, and BONK losing 9-10% of their value. CZ’s comments come as the meme coin craze is set to accelerate rapidly heading into 2024.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has expressed concern over the growing popularity of meme coins, stating that the trend has become “a bit strange.” In a recent statement, Zhao urged the crypto community to develop more real-world applications using blockchain technology. The Binance founder also emphasized the importance of more practical and long-term uses in this area.
The meme coin sector often comes to the fore with trend-oriented projects that focus less on the application area. These projects may have become popular in a short time and provided great returns, but such large speculative movements require investors to be careful. Some prominent meme coins have increased in value by up to 2,000% in a short time. Such rapid fluctuations pose a risk for retail investors and new investors who are not prepared for fluctuations.
Other crypto figures echoed Changpeng Zhao’s comments. Popular analyst IncomeSharks said that meme coins were initially fun but have become “extremely strange and desperate” over time. Bitcoin analyst Willy Woo criticized the current state of meme coins, saying, “Satoshi Dice was the first blockchain application, now we’ve come full circle with meme coins and swaps. Unsafe gambling is in demand.”
Changpeng Zhao’s views on meme coins came a day after Binance launched futures for two meme coins, WHY and CHEEMS, on BNB Chain. However, both tokens saw sharp declines in price shortly after the launch. Dan Crypto Larp, a user on the X platform, criticized Binance’s choice to list these coins, saying, “Unfortunately, Binance is currently focusing on such projects rather than coins with utilities or applications. As a global leader, I feel this plays a role in promoting appropriate technologies. I wish you were back at the helm to steer the ship in the right direction.”
After Donald Trump announced a tariff hike on Monday, Bitcoin prices fell, with BTC falling below $94,000. During the same period, popular meme coins such as Dogecoin (DOGE), Pepe Coin (PEPE), Bonk (BONK) also lost value. Floki Inu (FLOKI) also fell by more than 10%. Recent reports suggested that Elon Musk may be secretly “shilling” PEPE Coin after years of support.