Memecoins, NFTs are called from their architects: “Zero Intrinsic Value”

Solana Labs CEO Anatoly Yakovenko called MemeCoins and NFTS “digital slops” this week without any real value. He spoke with base creator Jesse Pollack as part of the back and Force.

Yakovenko compared these tokens to the looting boxes in mobile games that play for free. His dull take attracted both praise and criticism from the entire crypto world.

Memecoin faces harsh words

Yakovenko said she has held this view since at least January 2024. He argued that the prices people pay are all that gives these tokens worthwhile.

Pollak shot back saying that the content itself is drawing out its own value no matter what you charge to see it, like a painting hanging in the museum.

This argument shines a spotlight on how well Solana’s growth relies on the very very much that its leader dismisses.

I said this for years. MemeCoins and NFTS are digital slops and have no essential value. Like a loot box in a mobile game. People are spending $1500 on mobile games.

– Tory (@aeyakovenko) July 27, 2025

Solana’s income linked to “slop”

Solana – According to Focused Infrastructure Firm Syndica, MemeCoins accounted for 62% of the network’s distributed app revenue in June. That number helped push Solana’s take to around $1.6 billion in the first half of 2025.

That big chunk of money came from Launchpad at Pump.fun and Dex aggregator at Pumpswap. But Yakovenko said Apple’s booty box would drive the revenues of the App Store in roughly the same way.

The content itself is valuable. Advertising is a way to monetize that value. However, the content itself is valuable. Just as the painting is fundamentally valuable, whether or not you charge the museum people to see it.

– jesse.base.eth (@jessepollak) July 27, 2025

Community Pushback Build

Critics called him straight away. X user “Caps” wrote for Flaunch and accused Yakovenko of ocking his user base.

Another commentator, Carbon, said the stance found the “nasty” stance and pointed out that Jacobenko always promotes memokine, even though she claims it’s not worth it.

The clash has fans and skeptics debating whether it’s fair to lightly corn a market that clearly feeds Solana’s growth.

The competition gets hot

Meanwhile, rival Memecoin Launchpad, known as Letbonk, is eating Pump.fun’s lead. At various points, Letbonk has surpassed Pump.fun with 24-hour revenue.

This indicates that the user is ready to chase the next big token wherever they are. For Solana, that means more money in the short term, but also increases the risk of instability if the hype moves elsewhere.

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