‘Thinking Bigger and on Massive Scale’

Shiba Inu, the lead developer, reacts as the Ethereum founder presents features that a celebrity meme coin must have to attract his respect.

The meme coin scene has seen a notable exchange between Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin and Shiba Inu lead developer Shytoshi Kusama. This interaction unfolded on X, sparked by a discussion initiated by Chris Buniske, a partner at crypto hedge fund Placeholder.

Buniske pointed out the potential of a MOTHER, a meme coin tied to Iggy Azalea. He suggested it could be a pioneering example of sustainable value creation in the ongoing wave of celebrity-backed cryptocurrencies. This observation comes amid a flurry of celebrity memecoins, with figures like Caitlyn Jenner and Nigerian music artiste Davido joining the trend.

Ethereum Founder Critiques Meme coins

However, responding to Buniske, Buterin expressed his dissatisfaction with the current landscape of celebrity meme coins. He stressed that while financialization can be respectable if it serves a noble purpose like healthcare or open-source software, it loses merit when it becomes the end goal itself.

I’m feeling quite unhappy about with “this cycle’s celebrity experimentation” so far.

“Financialization as a means toward an end”, I can respect if the end is worthy (healthcare, open source software, art, etc). Financialization *as the final product*, ????

Ashton and Mila’s…

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) June 5, 2024

He contrasted this with the “Stoner Cats” project by American movie stars and couple Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, which he deemed more honorable due to its tangible output—a funded cartoon show.

To improve the direction of celebrity crypto projects, Buterin outlined several key features he believes are essential. According to him, meme coins that command these features are likely to attract his respect. The recent comments come amid this sustained criticism of meme coins.

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Buterin States His Recommended Features

The first feature he mentions is that the project should aim to serve a public good beyond merely enriching the celebrity and early adopters. This could involve supporting art projects or the celebrity’s favored charities.

A quick summary of features that a celebrity crypto project needs to have for me to be more willing to respect it:

1. Have some kind of public-good goal that it’s serving, other than enriching the celebrity and early adopters. Realistically, either an art project or the…

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) June 5, 2024

Secondly, Buterin emphasized that the project should offer engaging mechanics beyond token trading. While the Ethereum founder stressed that he is not a fan of token voting decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), he acknowledges they provide a way for people to engage and organize.

In addition, Buterin noted that the project should be designed to last at least ten years rather than being a short-lived hype cycle. For context, the meme coin launched by Davido and announced on X saw an over 90% drop just hours after its launch. On-chain data suggests the Nigerian artiste sold off his holdings.

Buterin emphasized that the primary goal for celebrities and developers should be to create a project where participants feel satisfied with their involvement, even if the tokens eventually become worthless. He noted that conventional charities and businesses often achieve this standard, and crypto projects should aim for it as well.

Shiba Inu Lead Reacts

Shytoshi Kusama responded positively to Buterin’s critique, indicating that Shiba Inu is already working on a project that aligns with Buterin’s vision.

Couldn’t be better timing. Walking into a meeting now to close exactly this. Well, almost exactly- we are thinking much bigger than this and on a massive scale. I’ll show this to the team for validation. Thanks Woofmeister. ???? @VitalikButerin https://t.co/Y4luBnR1OE

— Shytoshi Kusama™ (@ShytoshiKusama) June 5, 2024

Kusama mentioned that they are considering an even larger scale and would present Buterin’s feedback to their team for validation. His response suggests that Shiba Inu is not only aware of the need for meaningful, lasting projects but is actively pursuing such ambitions.

Interestingly, the Shiba Inu ecosystem team, led by Kusama, is transforming SHIB from a meme coin project to a decentralized ecosystem. They have made progress on this with the introduction of several ecosystem tokens and projects such as ShibaSwap, Shibarium, Shiboshis, and the Shiba Inu metaverse.