Solana Co-founder Dismisses Meme Coins and NFTs Despite Network Profits
Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko ignited debate on Crypto Twitter by dismissing meme coins and NFTs as “digital slop,” a term he described as similar to comparing loot boxes in mobile games despite the network’s significant reliance on such tokens for revenue.
The Criticisms
Speaking in a discussion with Coinbase’s Jesse Pollak, Yakovenko stated: “I’ve said this for years. Memecoins and NFTs are digital slop and have no intrinsic value. Like a mobile game loot box. People spend $150b a year on mobile gaming.”
Yakovenko compared the speculative nature of these assets, arguing buyers are hoping to “sell after it’s gone viral and before the virality dies down.”
The Defense
Coinbase’s Jesse Pollak defended platforms like Zora, emphasizing the value creators bring. He asserted: “Content is valuable. Creators are valuable. That’s why there are trillions of dollars of business value created around them.”
Pollak stressed the strength of certain coin technologies in empowering creators: “The idea that assets coming out of pump.fun and Zora are equivalent is a logical fallacy. Not all coins are the same, fundamentals matter.”
In rebuttal, Pollak pointedly stated: “Content is incredibly valuable” and called tokens “the most powerful technology” to enable “value flow for creators.” He added, “Those who think otherwise… are free to believe ‘content is worth zero.'”Layer-1 Contradiction
Despite Yakovenko’s fierce criticisms, the Layer-1 blockchain continues to benefit substantially from meme coin activity, particularly through launchpad Pump.fun.
Dune Analytics data reveals Pump.fun has facilitated the debut of nearly 12 million tokens and generated well over $776 million in revenue since its launch in 2024.
Industry Perspectives
Arjun Vijay, founder of crypto exchange Giottus, offered perspective from a technical-existential standpoint: “NFTs and meme coins are short-term trends. It can be a good channel for traffic revenue to the blockchain for a short period, but it may not be sustainable.”
Vijay added, “Long-term growth comes from attracting long-term capital in the form of TVL [Total Value Locked] and long-term traction,” noting while Solana has demonstrated technical excellence, its future depends on more than speculative trading.
In contrast, Ray Youssef, CEO of crypto marketplace NoOnes, warned against an attempted decoupling from the meme coin ecosystem: “If Solana attempts to distance itself from meme coins and NFTs, it risks disconnecting from the source of the energy that brought its ecosystem back to life.”
He cautioned: “Sidelining meme coins risks turning Solana into ‘a sterile database and ghost town … [with] unrealized potential.'”
According to Youssef, sustainable long-term value requires active, ongoing user engagement with a blockchain beyond mere speculative trading.
