On June 2, Billy Markus, co-founder of Dogecoin, expressed strong criticism of the cryptocurrency market. Furthermore, he described the sector as a “rigged casino” full of gullible people, reflecting his disenchantment with the market.
In a post on the social network X, Billy Markus characterized the cryptocurrency market as an environment where the majority pretends to be smarter than they really are. The statement from the creator of Dogecoin was a response to a post by Nate Alex. This is a notable NFT collector and creator, who has criticized the current state of the cryptocurrency market.
Finally, Alex compared the market to a rigged casino, suggesting that the goal is often to attract uninformed retail investors. The ultimate goal is for insiders to dump fraudulent cryptocurrencies.
Celebrities hacked in meme coin schemes
Markus’ criticism points to manipulation and exploitation in the cryptocurrency industry . This coincides with the recent popularity of “meme coins” such as Pepe (PEPE) and BONK, which, despite having little utility, have been used in multiple scams, including “rug pulls”.
Recently, CryptoNews reported that scammers have been targeting crypto influencers’ accounts on Network X to promote meme coins. Among the victims of these hacks were popular celebrities, including rapper Rich the Kid and media personality Caitlyn Jenner.
Rich the Kid’s account promoted a new token called $RICH, which reached a market cap of $90,000 in the first two minutes after its launch. However, its value has fallen by 87% at the time of publication. Similarly, Caitlyn Jenner’s account promoted a meme coin called $JENNER, which saw its market value skyrocket to $22 million, according to aggregated data.
Both celebrities claim their accounts were hacked by a Meme Coins contributor to run a “pump-and-dump” scheme. These examples highlight concerns about manipulation and exploitation within the cryptocurrency market, echoing Markus’ criticism of the industry.
Billy Markus continues to openly comment on the cryptocurrency market
Cryptocurrency enthusiasts believe that Dogecoin creator Billy Markus has maintained his tendency to openly express his opinions on events and developments in the cryptocurrency market.
On May 16, Markus expressed pessimism about the approval of an Ethereum ETF in the spot market. In short, he argued that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is biased and that its decision on these ETFs would not have a significant impact on Ethereum or the cryptocurrency market in general.
His perspective was born out of the skepticism surrounding spot Ether ETFs and highlighted broader concerns within the cryptocurrency community regarding regulatory challenges.
However, on May 23, the SEC surprised many by approving spot Ether ETFs. Although potential ETF issuers’ Forms 19b-4 have been approved, they still need their S-1 registration statements to become effective before trading can begin.
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