Nic Carter Declares the End of Meme Coins After $4 Billion Libragate

Data from Dune Analytics shows a 59% drop in memecoin launches on Solana SOL $175.53 -based Pump.fun over the past month.

This decline follows growing concerns about fairness in meme coin markets, particularly after the $4 billion LIBRA controversy, also known as Libragate, which involved Argentine President Javier Milei.

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A partner at Castle Island Ventures, Nic Carter, believes this marks the end of meme coins. On February 19, he stated on X that “meme coins are cooked”, arguing that recent events have exposed deep flaws in the industry.

He explained that meme coins initially gained traction as a more accessible alternative to venture capital-backed tokens with high valuations. While many viewed them as a form of gambling, they at least seemed open to all investors. However, he now sees this fairness as an illusion, citing cases where celebrity-backed meme coins were launched in ways that favored insiders.

Carter pointed to projects linked to figures like US President Donald Trump and influencer Hailey Welch as examples of unfair practices. According to him, these tokens were designed to benefit early buyers at the expense of regular investors.

However, Coinbase $3.79B CEO Brian Armstrong has defended meme coins, saying their potential should not be dismissed. Armstrong stated in a February 19 post on X, “Just like the early days of the internet with animated gifs, new technologies often look like a toy but evolve into something much more powerful over time”.

Recently, Hayden Davis, the creator of the LIBRA token, claimed that criticism of meme coin trading comes from investors upset about missing out on insider deals. What did he say about it? Read the full story.