Binance Founder Calls Meme Coins ‘Weird’ as Pump.fun Controversy Sizzles

Meme coin mania appears to have swept the masses, but at least one industry stalwart is chaffing under this year’s hype.

Meme coins are “getting a little weird now,” former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao said Tuesday on X, adding the crypto community should pivot to building “real applications using blockchain.” 

Weird, however, is an understatement.

The founder’s comments form part of a broader online discussion about a controversial trend in recent weeks in which meme coin creators pump their low-cap altcoins through outlandish — and sometimes dangerous — publicity stunts. 

Solana-based meme coin launchpad Pump.fun on Monday disabled its popular live stream feature shortly after a token creator pretended to hang himself during a live broadcast on the platform. 

The stunt reignited a long-running debate about Pump.fun’s role as a breeding ground for harmful content linked to the promotion of meme coins.

“We acknowledge that recent events on our platform’s live streams have caused concern,” Pump.fun’ team said Monday, vowing to double down on content moderation. “Our platform has experienced unprecedented growth recently, with the daily number of live streams increasing by over 100x in under a week.” 

That meme coin madness has only mushroomed in a bull market that has catapulted several altcoins’ prices to astronomical all-time highs. 

Tokens such as Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT) and Just a Chill Guy (CHILLGUY) have soared more than 1,500% and 2,800%, CoinGecko data shows. 

Their dizzying trajectories have fueled many creators’ ambitions, employing whatever means necessary to cross the delta between low-cap altcoin to unlikely market-cycle winner. 

Earlier this year, a Solana developer doused himself in isopropyl alcohol and took a barrage of fireworks during a Pump.fun livestream, landing himself in the hospital with third-degree burns. Meanwhile, staged kidnappings, fraudulent amputees, and X-rated live shows continue to run rampant.

Pump.fun did not immediately return Decrypt’s request for comment.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair