Meme coins add 2017 ICO-style ‘utility’ to offerings
Google queries for meme coins have quintupled in the last 30 days with some leading tokens rallying millions of percentage points. At today’s heights, some are calling for the bubble to pop. This month — somewhat unbelievably — dozens of new meme coins have raised nine figures simply through their founders tweeting a Solana wallet address. No whitepaper, website, terms, or agreement. Now, with the memetic bubble reaching fever pitch, hundreds of smaller coins are already trying to attract attention from the leading tokens’ breathtaking valuations by adding ‘ utility .’ It is the ICO playbook all over again. Seven-year rewind For context, during the 2017 initial coin offering ( ICO ) craze, founders tried to avoid US SEC urities regulations by focusing on the utility (rather than profit potential) of their tokens. Because US law forbids most founders from raising money on the promise of profit without SEC registration or exemption, ICO s emphasized how ...