Justin Bons, founder and CIO of Cyber Capital, Europe’s oldest cryptocurrency fund, is known for provocative comments about X. On January 29, the full-time cryptocurrency researcher dropped another controversy, describing Bitcoin (BTC) as a meme coin.
However, Bons’ claims are not empty. He justifies his opinion with Bitcoin’s lack of “serious purpose and utility” beyond price speculation, similar to meme coins.
Additionally, the Cyber Capital founder blamed BTC’s low scalability, not mentioning any “capacity” in reference to its maximum capacity of 7 transactions per second (TPS). Furthermore, Just Bons did not mention any “programmability” or “long-term security” for the leading cryptocurrency, concluding that BTC has “no use.”
BTC is a meme coin
Without capacity, programmability or long-term security; BTC has no use!
Purely speculative, without purpose or reason
BTC is now the opposite of what Bitcoin should have become
Betraying Satoshi’s original vision laid out in the Bitcoin white paper
— Justin Bons (@Justin_Bons) January 29, 2024
These bold claims are supported by the researcher’s thesis, which can be fulfilled in previous posts. Notably, other cryptocurrency researchers share some of Bons’ controversial criticisms of Bitcoin. For example, Ari Paul, founder and CIO of BlockTower Capital, recently mentioned concerns about “security budget” and low “utilization.”
Bitcoin and meme coins in the cryptocurrency market
Interestingly, the concept of “memecoin” grew 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 feature. It can be used in the broadest sense as a critique of the cryptocurrency market as a whole – those based on particular memes like “doge coins,” celebrities like Coinye, and pump-and-dump schemes like BitConnect – or it could be used to make the most accessible cryptocurrency. The term is often derogatory and compares the value or performance of such cryptocurrencies to traditional ones. Proponents, on the other hand, note that some memecoins have acquired social currency and large market capitalizations.”
– Wikipedia on “Meme Money”
Following the success of Dogecoin, dozens of meme coins have gained popularity through price speculation and social acceptance. In particular, these coins are known to have strong, passionate communities with high engagement, attracting new capital through “Fear of Missing Out” (FOMO).
All in all, cryptocurrencies are still in their infancy. Therefore, concepts and definitions are gradually sculpted through new understandings and discoveries. Investors must remain cautious when trading highly speculative assets, do their own research and draw their own conclusions from a subjective perception of the value of their understanding of each project.