CZ Calls Out Memecoin Madness

The surging popularity of meme coins has drawn criticism from former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, who voiced concerns over the sector’s growing extremism.

“Meme coins are getting a little weird now,” CZ remarked Tuesday on X (formerly Twitter). “The crypto community should pivot to building real applications using blockchain.”

I am not against memes, but meme coins are getting "a little" weird now.

Let's build real applications using blockchain.

— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) November 26, 2024

His comments come as the meme coin frenzy, fueled by a bull market, reaches new heights—and increasingly bizarre publicity stunts.

Dangerous Stunts on Pump.fun

A spotlight has been cast on Pump.fun, a Solana-based meme coin launchpad that has faced backlash after a string of controversial live streams.

The platform disabled its live stream feature on Monday following an incident in which a token creator pretended to hang himself during a broadcast, reigniting debates about its role in promoting harmful content.

“We acknowledge that recent events on our platform’s live streams have caused concern,” Pump.fun said in a statement, pledging stricter content moderation.

The company attributed the surge in stunts to unprecedented growth, claiming the number of live streams had increased over 100x in a week.

Meme Coins in the Spotlight

Despite the controversies, meme coins like Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT) and Just a Chill Guy (CHILLGUY) have surged dramatically.

• PNUT: Up over 1,500%, according to CoinGecko data.
• CHILLGUY: Soared more than 2,800% during its run.

These astronomical gains have emboldened some creators to employ dangerous and outlandish methods to promote their projects.

Crossing the Line

In recent months, Pump.fun has seen increasingly extreme stunts from developers vying for attention:

• A Solana developer landed in the hospital with third-degree burns after dousing himself in isopropyl alcohol and setting off fireworks during a live stream.
• Other stunts have included staged kidnappings, fraudulent claims of disability, and even explicit X-rated shows.

Such antics have sparked calls for platforms like Pump.fun to take greater responsibility for the content they enable.

A Call for Change

CZ’s call for the crypto community to focus on real-world blockchain applications reflects growing frustration with the speculative frenzy surrounding meme coins.

As the hype escalates, industry leaders and observers are urging a return to meaningful innovation that showcases blockchain’s potential beyond quick gains and viral trends.