Following last week’s memecoin craze, fueled by the US President’s official launch of the token, the cryptocurrency community is divided over the potential ramifications of Donald Trump’s memecoin project. Ethereum founder, Vitalik Buterin, shared his concerns about the potential negative impact and “risks” of these tokens.
Political symbols: sources of pleasure or means of bribery?
A week ago, US President Donald Trump stormed the cryptocurrency market after launching his official token, Trump. memecoin broke all records for newly launched cryptocurrencies, reaching over $10 billion in trading volume, an all-time high (ATH) of $75, and a market capitalization of $15 billion in less than two days.
However, the unprecedented launch has raised concerns among the cryptocurrency community. Many investors expressed their doubts, which intensified after seeing the token allocation unveiled. According to the official website, only 20% of the 1 billion TRUMP tokens generated will be available to the public, while the remaining 80% has been allocated to issuers.
As a result, many community members have expressed doubts about the potential long-term implications of the Trump meme. Among them, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin took to X to share his perspective.
On Thursday, Buterin open His concerns about the “political risks of coins,” explaining that it is time to open a conversation about the “new order” of the industry:
Over the past year, we have entered into a new system. Now, the most powerful people in the world welcome the idea of anyone creating tokens for anything, at any scale. Now is a good time to talk about the difference between short-term, sugar-filled pleasure that is unwise to recommend to beginners, and long-term achievement and wealth building.
For the Ethereum founder, the conversation should not be about “fun is bad,” but rather “the fact that large-scale political currencies transcend other boundaries.” He considers these codes not a source of enjoyment, as their harm lies in “mistakes made by voluntary participants.”
Instead, the symbols used by politicians risk becoming “a vehicle for unlimited political bribery, including from foreign nation-states.” After inquiry, Buterin also clarified his position, stating that the risks of these cryptocurrencies come from them being an “ideal” bribery vehicle, as it would not be necessary to send any tokens to give them money.
He points out that anyone could buy and hold the token, which would passively increase the value of their holdings. As a result, this may allow denial, which is a danger to democracy.
Buterin explains the potential risks of politician tokens. Source: Vitalik Buterin on X
Cryptocurrency community divided over Memecoin politician
Buterin’s comments sparked controversy, with many community members disagreeing with his point of view. One user
Another user noted that political symbols can “democratize fundraising and align incentives with communities,” adding: “Innovation should not be dismissed because it challenges old systems.”
Recently, CpyotQuant CEO, Ki Young Joo, shared a similar view. As reported by Bitcoinist, Joe considers Trump to have “opened the era of meme coins,” as celebrity tokens are just one of the forms meme coins can take.
Ju explains the change in opinion on memecoins. Ki Young Ju on X
He stressed that it is worth thinking about how to get the most out of it and suggested that President Trump could use those who hold his cryptocurrency “as a powerful community base for collective actions.”
Joe also noted that the value of these tokens will depend on what the number attached to them does, concluding that the ongoing wave looks “unstoppable” until 2028.
Total crypto market capitalization is at $3.57 trillion in the one-week chart. Source: TOTAL on TradingView
Featured image from Unsplash.com, chart from TradingView.com
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