- Meme coins are seeing a resurgence in popularity through tokens like Pepe.
- KuCoin’s BD Lead in Europe reveals how the exchange tackles the issue.
- Memecoins like Pepe have strong communities, he acknowledged.
When crypto markets are riding high, meme coins surge even higher, leaving exchanges like KuCoin to tackle the fallout.
Since the market upswing in 2023, meme coins have seen a significant resurgence, much to the surprise of many in the crypto community. One of the bigger meme coins to take the stage recently was Pepe, attracting considerable interest from retail investors.
The meme coin phenomenon is not without its critics, however. Many see it as a dangerous fad. The surge of meme coins offers an opportunity but also exposes traders to a substantial risk of losses. Pepe, for instance, is now trading at $0.0000014, having fallen almost 68.32% from its all-time high of $0.000004354.
This resurgence puts centralized exchanges in a tricky position, especially when the tokens inevitably see declines as hype and demand die down. Exchanges have to balance the needs of their users and the potential downsides, including regulatory risks.
How KuCoin Approaches Meme Coins
To gain insight into this issue, DailyCoin’s Sections Editor, Stefan Trapp, spoke with Dorian Vincileoni, KuCoin’s European Business Development Manager. Vincileoni started by emphasizing that he does not work directly with coin listings on the exchange but shared his understanding of KuCoin’s approach, as their dedicated Listing and Research team explained to him.
“We have a listing team dedicated to analyzing projects and their economics. It’s obvious that meme coins will always be kind of controversial in the space. I mean, they started as a joke, right?” explained Vincileoni.
Vincileoni used the example of Dogecoin, which has become one of the top ten largest cryptos since its creation, with a market cap of $10 billion.
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“Dogecoin is officially a joke, as it has been described by its own founders. But the reality is you cannot prevent people from gathering into communities online,” Vincileoni highlighted. “The fact that it’s a community based around a meme coin which doesn’t necessarily have utility, so to speak, doesn’t mean that the community doesn’t exist.”
Vincileoni explained that when it comes to listing tokens like Pepe, KuCoin has a “user-centric” approach. On this issue, they defer to meme coin communities.
“Our role is not to say that we agree or disagree with the project. We are here to respond to the demand of users. In this case, Pepe has a strong community, and we could not ignore that.”
KuCoin listed Pepe on May 5, the same day as Binance, the largest exchange in the world. The listings sparked a 132% surge for the token, propelling it to its all-time high of $0.000004354. Since then, $PEPE since fallen to its pre-listing price of $0.0000014.
On the Flipside
- Pepe faces potential copyright issues. The original artist behind Pepe the Frog has already taken action against Pepe-themed NFTs.
- Rival exchange Coinbase did not list Pepe. Instead, the exchange said the token used an “alt-right hate symbol,” Pepe the Frog. The exchange later apologized for its characterization after immense backlash.
Why This Matters
Recent developments highlight that meme coins have become big enough to impact even centralized exchanges, the biggest players in crypto. If exchanges can’t ignore meme coins, no one can.
Read about the controversies surrounding the Pepe token.
PEPE: Innocent Meme coin or Political Tool?
Read about potential copyright issues with Pepe.
Beware of Pepe the Frog Meme coins: Copyright Issues Could Put Your Investment at Risk
