Arthur Hayes Believes Meme Coins Can Bring Value To Blockchain Networks

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes recently advised caution before dismissing all meme coins as stupid, suggesting they can bring notable benefits to the blockchain networks where they emerge. In an interview with Real Vision CEO Raoul Pal on March 30th, Hayes emphasized that meme coins can attract attention and draw in new users and developers to blockchains, thereby adding value to the ecosystem.

Hayes asserted that if meme coins attract attention and talent to the space, then it should be seen as a positive development. He also highlighted Solana and Ethereum as the most promising networks capable of harnessing attention generated by memes.

The Frenzy Continues

Last year, Solana experienced a surge in network activity following a meme coin frenzy in November, leading to the launch of numerous non-meme projects on the network in subsequent months. Similarly, Bitcoin witnessed increased network and development activity after the influx of BRC-20 tokens and Ordinals around the same period.

Pal believes meme coins could become increasingly popular among younger crypto investors, tapping into the gaming mentality prevalent among Gen Z and millennials. It is just gaming with money, remarked Pal.

Both Pal and Hayes anticipate continued attention toward meme coins in the future, with Solana-based meme coin WIF scheduled to be projected on the Las Vegas Sphere in the coming months. WIF recently surpassed Ethereum layer-2 network Arbitrum (ARB) in total market capitalization.

The Issues

However, industry executives warn of numerous risks associated with meme coins. Franklin Templeton, a US investment firm, highlighted the lack of fundamental value or utility in meme coins despite the potential for quick profits.

Similarly, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin expressed disinterest in meme coins but encouraged finding ways to make them useful or charitable instead of simply condemning them. He stressed the importance of embracing the desire for fun within the crypto space.

Despite the risks, meme coins have outperformed other asset classes within the crypto sector in the last month. In the past week, meme coins listed on CoinGecko have seen a collective gain of 20%, surpassing the gains of layer-1 network tokens and decentralized finance (DeFi) tokens.