In a November 26 post on X, Zhao described the meme coin trend as “a little odd” and called on creators to prioritize building meaningful applications with practical value instead of chasing hype.
Memecoins may be losing investors’ attention
Meme coins often depend on viral marketing and social media buzz to attract fleeting investor attention. Though they may offer quick gains for a few, their lack of real utility or practical applications often results in substantial losses for the majority once the hype subsides.
CZ’s remarks have reignited conversations about the meme coin craze, emphasizing concerns over their minimal practical value. One user commented,
“They went from being fun, to funny, to extremely weird and desperate.”
CZ’s statement comes amid controversy surrounding Solana-based meme coin platform Pump.fun, which faces backlash over violent behaviour broadcasted via its livestream feature. On November 25, Pudgy Penguins’ safety manager Beau flagged a live stream where a user threatened self-harm over their token’s market cap, urging Pump.fun to turn off the feature and provide support. Beau described the livestream function as “out of control” and called for removal.
The hype around meme coins has prompted many prominent X influencers to promote these tokens as quick money-making opportunities. However, a CoinWire report exposes a harsh reality: most meme coins are worthless, leaving many investors with heavy losses. The report highlights that 76% of influencers on X have promoted meme coins that are now defunct, with two out of three tokens they endorse ultimately losing all value. CoinWire states,
“Our research reveals a sobering truth: the majority of these meme coins are dead, and most investors face significant losses,”
underscoring the risks of influencer-driven promotions in the meme coin market.
Also Read: Binance Co-Founder Changpeng Zhao Issues New Warning About Scammers Using Fake Accounts
Tokenization is becoming a more concrete use case
Real-world asset tokenization is another area CZ has repeatedly identified as a more practical direction for crypto, and that thesis is gaining traction in 2026. Tokenized stocks have expanded rapidly this year, with the market reaching about $1.7 billion by June, according to Crypto.com Research. The sector is increasingly focused on representing traditional assets on blockchain infrastructure rather than creating entirely new speculative assets.
Traditional market infrastructure is also moving in the same direction. Nasdaq, NYSE and DTCC are among the institutions developing tokenized market infrastructure, while DTCC plans to begin tokenizing highly liquid assets from October 2026.
This is closer to the type of blockchain utility CZ has been advocating: using the technology to change how existing financial assets are issued, transferred and settled.
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