When a cryptocurrency alternate lists its first altcoin, it units itself up for an infinite cycle of launching memecoins, warns a Bitcoin-only establishment govt.
“The minute an alternate provides one non-Bitcoin token, they’re signing as much as be on the endlessly hamster wheel of memecoins,” River Monetary CEO Alex Leishman said in a March 29 X submit. “It is unnecessary to checklist ETH if you happen to don’t checklist the tokens issued on ETH, and the identical goes for Solana,” Leishman mentioned.
River has little interest in constructing a “profitable crypto on line casino”
Leishman mentioned whereas there are lots of “profitable crypto casinos,” he has little interest in constructing one. River Monetary is a Bitcoin-only monetary establishment focusing on shopping for and promoting Bitcoin (BTC). A number of corporations have opted for the Bitcoin-only method, together with Swan Bitcoin, Bull Bitcoin, and decentralized alternate 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 clients, and the Bitcoin-only mannequin is concentrated on serving to folks construct long-term wealth.”
Critics have voiced this level earlier than, even through the memecoin uptrend in early 2024. In April 2024, A16z chief know-how officer Eddy Lazzarin mentioned that memecoins hamper the long-term vision of crypto that has saved so most of the authentic builders within the area.
“At greatest, it seems to be like a dangerous on line casino,” Lazzarin mentioned.
The memecoin market cap is down 27.94% over the previous 12 months. Supply: CoinMarketCap
The general memecoin market cap has taken a big downturn for the reason that starting of 2025. Since Jan. 1, the memecoin market cap has slumped virtually 49% to $48.49 billion on the time of publication, according 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 provides a number of cryptocurrencies to its clients, reported a 700% year-over-year surge in Q4 2024 cryptocurrency revenue.
Some merchants appear to interpret a memecoin itemizing on an alternate as validation of its credibility. Among the many 15 memecoins listed by crypto alternate Binance in 2024, 12 noticed important will increase in worth after going reside on the alternate, pseudonymous onchain analyst Ai_9684xtpa said in November.
CoinGecko founder Bobby Ong recently 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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