Bitwise co-founder Matt Hougan predicts the imminent end of the memecoin boom, citing connections with Melania, Libra, and the Lazarus Group. He believes institutional Bitcoin adoption will replace this niche, heralding new crypto utilities.
Bitwise co-founder Matt Hougan forecasts the demise of the memecoin boom due to its ties with criminal enterprises like the Lazarus Group, who allegedly use memecoins to launder stolen ETH. He claims this sector will collapse within six months.
Institutional Utility and DeFi Potential
Hougan notes that the decline of memecoins could lead to substantial institutional adoption of Bitcoin and other decentralized finance (DeFi) innovations, including corporate stablecoins and tokenization. He suggests this transition could revitalize the crypto landscape.
> “What crypto is digesting right now is the end of the memecoin boom. The combination of Melania, Libra, and the Lazarus Group using memecoins to launder stolen ETH will kill it dead. Maybe not today, but within 6 months.”
> Matt Hougan
Blockchain analysts from Bubblemaps report suspicious activities involving the LIBRA and MELANIA memecoins, where significant profits were funneled to wallets affiliated with project creators, raising red flags about the legitimacy of these ventures.
The Lazarus Group, notorious for a historic $1.5 billion crypto heist from Bybit, has been using memecoins for laundering operations, prompting Hougan’s warnings. They allegedly employed the Solana launchpad, Pump.fun, for deploying new tokens while manipulating market hype to attract speculative traders.
Memecoins in Market Decline
Amid a broader crypto market meltdown, the top memecoins have shown poor performance but are experiencing slight recoveries. Dogecoin saw a 16.45% drop over the past week, while Shiba Inu rose by 5.62% recently.
Despite the bleak outlook, the potential for memecoin ETFs has emerged, with the U.S. SEC acknowledging applications for a Dogecoin ETF, although approval is uncertain. This indicates ongoing interest in memecoins, despite Hougan’s predictions of their decline.
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