Justin Bons, the Founder and CIO of Cyber Capital, Europe’s oldest cryptocurrency fund, is known for challenging comments on X. The full-time crypto researcher dropped another controversy on January 29, describing Bitcoin (BTC) as a meme coin.
However, Bons’ claims are not empty. He justifies his take by Bitcoin’s lack of “purpose and serious utility” beyond price speculation – similar to meme coins.
Moreover, Cyber Capital’s founder blamed BTC’s low scalability, mentioning no “capacity” in allusion to its maximum capacity of 7 transactions per second (TPS). Additionally, Just Bons mentioned no “programmability” or “long-term security” for the leading cryptocurrency, concluding BTC has “no utility.”
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These bold claims are backed by the researcher’s thesis, which can be met in previous posts. In particular, other cryptocurrency researchers share some of Bons’ controversial criticisms against Bitcoin. For example, Ari Paul, Founder and CIO of BlockTower Capital, recently mentioned the “security budget” concern and low “usage.”
Bitcoin and meme coins in the crypto market
Interestingly, the ‘memecoin’ concept surged with Dogecoin (DOGE), a derivative of the “Doge” meme, popular on internet forums in 2013. Wikipedia describes memecoins as follows, based on multiple sources:
“A meme coin (also spelled memecoin) is a cryptocurrency that originated from an Internet meme or has some other humorous characteristic. It may be used in the broadest sense as a critique of the cryptocurrency market in its entirety—those based on particular memes such as “doge coins,” celebrities like Coinye, and pump-and-dump schemes such as BitConnect—or it may be used to make cryptocurrency more accessible. The term is often dismissive, comparing the value or performances of those cryptocurrencies to that of mainstream ones. Supporters, on the other hand, observe that some memecoins have acquired social currency and high market capitalizations.”
– Wikipedia on “Meme coin”
Following Dogecoin’s success, dozens of meme coins gained popularity through price speculation and social acceptance. Notably, these coins are known for having strong and passionate communities with high engagement, attracting fresh capital through the “Fear of Missing Out” (FOMO).
All in all, cryptocurrencies are still in their infancy. Therefore, concepts and definitions are gradually being carved through new understandings and discoveries. Investors must remain cautious when trading highly speculative assets, do their own research, and take their conclusions from a subjective perception of the value of their understanding of each project.
