Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum (ETH), is criticizing the current trend of celebrity memecoins, stating that digital assets should serve a purpose beyond simply enriching their creators and early supporters.
In a recent post on the social media platform X, Buterin, with 5.3 million followers, expresses his dissatisfaction with the current wave of celebrities dabbling in meme assets. He specifically mentions Stoner Cats, an NFT collection supported by actors Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, noting that the project at least had some real-world utility.
“I’m quite disheartened by the current trend of celebrities experimenting with memecoins. I can respect financialization as a means to an end if the end is worthwhile, such as healthcare, open-source software, or art,” Buterin wrote. “Stoner Cats, as a final product, was far more respectable than anything we’ve seen from this 2024 celebrity memecoin era, at least there was an actual show being funded.”
Stoner Cats was declared an unregistered security by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2023, with the regulatory agency stating that the NFT collection had features that led investors to expect profits.
Buterin further outlines the characteristics that a celebrity meme asset would need to earn his respect. According to him, the tokens would need to have a lasting relevance, serve purposes beyond enriching the celebrity or early adopters, and offer features beyond just being tradeable.
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