In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, Yakovenko stated:
“I’ve said this for years: Memecoins and NFTs are digital slop and have no intrinsic value.”
His remarks came amid an ongoing debate with Base creator Jesse Pollak, who argued that these assets do hold fundamental value. According to Pollak, their content — like a painting — is inherently valuable, regardless of whether users pay to view or interact with it.
Yakovenko, however, countered that the value of such assets is purely market-driven, dependent on price discovery rather than inherent substance.
Comparing Memecoins to Apple’s Loot Boxes
While Yakovenko acknowledged that memecoins played a crucial role in Solana’s growth, he drew a parallel to Apple’s dependence on in-app loot boxes — virtual reward systems in many free-to-play games.
These loot boxes, often criticized for encouraging excessive spending without guaranteed outcomes, have come under regulatory scrutiny in countries such as Germany and Australia due to concerns over transparency and potential harm to users, particularly minors.
Yakovenko’s skepticism toward memecoins and NFTs is not new. He has expressed similar views publicly since at least January 2024.
Community Backlash
Yakovenko’s comments have triggered backlash from several crypto community members. X user “Caps,” a contributor to the Flaunch project, criticized the Solana co-founder for “mocking” his own user base.
Crypto commentator Karbon added:
“I wasn’t a huge fan of how Vitalik handled memecoins either […] but I find Toly’s approach much more distasteful — constantly promoting them while believing they’re worthless.”
Solana’s Heavy Dependence on Memecoins
Despite Yakovenko’s personal stance, memecoins continue to play a dominant role in Solana’s ecosystem. According to Solana infrastructure firm Syndica, memecoins accounted for 62% of all decentralized app (dApp) revenue on the Solana network in June, setting a new all-time high.
During the first half of 2025, memecoin activity has generated the majority of Solana’s $1.6 billion in total revenue, largely fueled by platforms like Pump.fun — a leading memecoin launchpad — and PumpSwap, a DEX aggregator designed for memecoins launched via Pump.fun.
However, a rising competitor, LetBonk, has recently emerged as a serious challenger to Pump.fun, at times surpassing it in daily revenue, further intensifying competition in Solana’s memecoin ecosystem.
