When a cryptocurrency trade lists its first altcoin, it units itself up for an countless cycle of launching memecoins, warns a Bitcoin-only establishment govt.
“The minute an trade provides one non-Bitcoin token, they’re signing as much as be on the perpetually hamster wheel of memecoins,” River Monetary CEO Alex Leishman said in a March 29 X submit. “It is senseless to checklist ETH for those who 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 specializing in shopping for and promoting Bitcoin (BTC). A number of corporations have opted for the Bitcoin-only strategy, 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 individuals 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 mentioned that memecoins hamper the long-term vision of crypto that has stored so most of the authentic builders within the area.
“At finest, it seems 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 because the 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 knowledge.
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 presents a number of cryptocurrencies to its prospects, reported a 700% year-over-year surge in Q4 2024 cryptocurrency revenue.
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 important will increase in worth after going reside on the trade, pseudonymous onchain analyst Ai_9684xtpa said in November.
CoinGecko founder Bobby Ong recently speculated that the memecoin market is perhaps headed towards an “excessive case of energy regulation,” the place 99.99% fail and some rise to the highest and endure.
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