As more celebrities dive into memecoins, a former Hollywood executive who now works in the Web3 space described the flaws surrounding celebrity-backed tokens and offered a potential alternative in the form of decentralized applications (DApps).
At the Token2049 event in Singapore, Cointelegraph journalist Ciaran Lyons spoke with Andrew Saunders, the chief marketing and growth officer of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) blockchain Skale, about celebrities jumping into Web3 through memecoins.
The Skale exec criticized the current state of celebrity memecoins and said he would stay away from them. “I come from Hollywood, and I would never touch a celebrity memecoin,” Saunders told Cointelegraph.
The problem with celebrity memecoins
The executive explained that celebrity tokens have similar qualities to most meme-based tokens. Saunders said these token projects tend to have key holders with a lot of supply. The Web3 professional said that even if they distribute the tokens across 50 wallets, it’s still the same situation if they are held by a few people.
Saunders also described memecoins as some sort of a player-versus-player (PvP) game. The executive believes that if users get in early enough, they can multiply their investment. He explained:
“You’re rolling the dice, right? And the longer you hold, the more likely it is you’re gonna get dumped on.”
However, the executive believes the tide will turn as the space gets more regulatory clarity. Saunders said that as the perception of crypto becomes more positive in the United States and people begin to understand the technology, there would be more of what he describes as an “arm in” model.
Saunders said this is when celebrities realize they can use blockchain technology to connect with their fans. In addition, they would be able to access data they couldn’t get using Web2 technologies.
Related: Are celebrity tokens good or bad for Web3? Execs weigh in
DApps instead of celebrity tokens
As an example, the executive said that a celebrity can create a DApp that allows users to earn points for all their interactions with the celebrity’s social posts. Then, they can trade those points for benefits like meet and greets, autographed posters or even a cameo in a music video.
“I think that’s where it’s going to ultimately go. I think at the end of the day, I don’t see any reason right now for a celebrity to launch a token, whether it’s a memecoin or utility-based token, but I do think blockchain technology is going to be eventually widely used by celebrities,” Saunders said.
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