Anatoly Yakovenko, one of the founders of Solana and CEO of Solana Labs, made a sharp statement about memecoins and NFTs, calling them “digital slop” with no intrinsic value. The remark sparked backlash in the crypto community, especially since memecoins currently make up the majority of Solana’s ecosystem revenue in 2025.
Words Against Profit
Yakovenko’s statement came on July 27 on X, where he engaged in a public discussion with Jesse Pollak, the creator of the Base network. The debate centered on whether memecoins and non-fungible tokens hold any intrinsic value. Yakovenko insisted they do not, claiming their prices are determined solely by the market. Pollak countered that “the content of these tokens is what creates their value.”
In the same post, Yakovenko acknowledged that Solana would not have grown to its current scale without memecoins but compared their role to loot box mechanics in mobile games.
“If not for loot boxes, Apple’s revenue would also be insignificant,” he said.
Community Pushback
Yakovenko’s stance drew a negative reaction. Some commenters pointed out that memecoins are what turned Solana into a major player in the crypto space. In their view, turning away from them isn’t a strategic shift but a potential blow to Solana’s own infrastructure.
User Caps, a contributor to the Flaunch project, noted that the head of Solana is effectively mocking his own audience. Another commenter, Karbon, compared Yakovenko to Vitalik Buterin.
“I don’t like how Vitalik treats memecoins, but Tolik’s stance is far worse - he’s promoting something he doesn’t even believe in,” he remarked.
Users also pointed out that Yakovenko has been expressing his view on the “zero value” of NFTs and memecoins on X since at least January 2024.
What Keeps Solana Afloat in 2025
According to infrastructure provider Syndica, as of June 2025, memecoins accounted for 62% of the revenue from decentralized applications on the Solana network - the highest in the project’s history. The total ecosystem revenue for the first half of the year reached $1.6 bln, with most of that coming from meme-related activity.
