“We should make games instead of coins”

Every Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrency bull cycle has its own idiosyncrasies. Years ago, ICOs, fan tokens, the metaverse, and DeFi, among others, gained relevance. In recent months, memecoins have grown in popularity and their capitalization has increased.

Memecoins are cryptocurrencies and tokens based on Internet memes or cultural or humorous symbols. Various breeds of dogs, lizards (such as the Argentine memecoin Magaiba), politicians, and food items have been honored as memecoins. The practical utility of these coins is zero. They do not solve any of humanity’s problems. They only work for financial speculation. Their creators and followers say they are for entertainment.

Ethereum co-creator Vitalik Buterin gave his opinion on the topic on March 29. In one of his blogs he published a Article Under the heading “What else could memecoins be?”

Buterin says that, currently, these tokens are making many people uncomfortable “Because there is nothing particularly new and interesting about memecoins”, Furthermore, the Russian-Canadian computer scientist adds that “Apparently, a lot of the Solana memecoins have been openly super racist.” He concluded his criticism by saying that “even non-racist memecoins often fluctuate in price and provide no value in their wake.”

Given this, many people criticize memecoins and call them an abomination. “To some extent, that’s the right thing to do,” Buterin says, but he considers this: “If people like to have fun, and ‘play the financial game’, at least sometimes, there’s a right way to do that.” So, could there be a version of this concept that is more than a positive sum?

As Example of “positive” memecoinsVitalik Buterin Mentions Charity Cryptocurrency:

The most interesting coins I’ve seen are coins where a large portion of the token supply (or some ongoing fee mechanism) is dedicated to some kind of charity. A year and a half ago, there was a coin (no longer active) called “GiveWell Inu” that donated its income to GiveWell. For the past two years, a coin called “Fable of the Dragon Tyrant” has been in circulation which, among other causes, supports cultural projects related to anti-aging research.

Vitalik Buterin, co-creator of Ethereum.

But, despite his enthusiasm, Buterin concludedThe scope of these currencies may be limited, So that something better can be done.

That would be a better and more fun alternative game. But Buterin, when he says this, is not talking about the usual games for money that have come out so far, but “really meaningful and fun games”. Description: «Don’t think about Candy Crush on the blockchain; Think World of Warcraft on the blockchain. Such developments would attract large capital from players who could (and Buterin emphasizes “can”) benefit low-income users.

“Charity coins and games can also be combined: one of the features of the game could be a mechanism where players who are successful in a task can participate in voting on which charity the issued money should be distributed to. goes.”

Vitalik Buterin, co-creator of Ethereum.

In any case, the computer developer recognizes this “Making a really fun game is a challenge, but you have to keep trying”, “Ideally, the goal is to create a co-created environment that makes all players happy.” Because money is zero-sum, but entertainment can be positive-sum,” he explains.

Vitalik Buterin: We must highlight the good even in what we don’t like

As a final reflection, Buterin revealed what he calls one of his personal ethical rules:

“If there is a class of people or groups you don’t like, you should be willing to praise at least some of them who do the best job satisfying your values. If you like governments If you don’t like social media platforms because they infringe on people’s freedom, then perhaps you can find room in your heart to say something nice about the Swiss. If you don’t like social media platforms because they are egotistical and encourage toxic behavior. But you think Reddit is twice as bad, then say nice things about Reddit. The opposite point of view (yelling ‘yes, in the future’).

Vitalik Buterin, co-creator of Ethereum.

He applies the same to his choices in the cryptocurrency industry. Buterin claims there is no enthusiasm for coins bearing names of authoritarian political movements, scandals, thefts or anything that sounds exciting now but makes everyone nervous later. Other than this, Appreciate that there are people who find memecoins fun, For this reason, he says he wants to see “fun, good quality projects that contribute positively to the ecosystem and the world around them.”

Buterin admits that he “prefers good memecoins over bad, ideally ones that support public goods rather than enriching early investors and creators.” And he concludes his writing by saying that the ideal would be to “make games instead of coins and make projects that people enjoy participating in.”