Solana Founder Calls NFTs and Meme Coins “Digital Slop”: Is He Right? 😂

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It was a time of great tumult and confusion in the world of cryptocurrencies, when Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of the illustrious Solana

SOL
$192.5

24h volatility:
3.3%

Market cap:
$103.55 B

Vol. 24h:
$9.85 B

, dared to speak the unspeakable. In a world where every pixel seemed to hold the promise of untold wealth, he branded meme coins and NFTs as nothing more than “digital slop,” devoid of any intrinsic value. Yet, it was a curious irony that the very ecosystem he criticized was the lifeblood of Solana’s prosperity. 🤔

Meme Coins, NFTs are Loot Boxes

In a post on X, Yakovenko did not mince words, reigniting a debate that had long simmered beneath the surface of the crypto community.

I’ve said this for years. Memecoins and NFTs are digital slop and have no intrinsic value. Like a mobile game loot box. People spend $150b a year on mobile gaming.

— toly 🇺🇸 (@aeyakovenko) July 27, 2025

Pollak Defends Take

His remarks drew a swift and spirited defense from Jesse Pollak, the creator of Base, who argued that digital collectibles and meme coins possessed a value as intrinsic as that of traditional artwork.

“The content itself is valuable. Just like a painting is fundamentally valuable, regardless of whether you charge people at the museum to see it,” Pollak replied, his words a testament to the enduring human belief in the value of creation, be it on canvas or in the digital realm.

Despite his dismissive stance, Yakovenko could not deny the role of meme coins in Solana’s meteoric rise. He likened this to Apple’s revenue model, suggesting that without the allure of loot boxes, even the mighty Apple would be reduced to a shadow of its former self.

Absolutely. Without lootboxes iOS would have negligible revenues for Apple.

— toly 🇺🇸 (@aeyakovenko) July 27, 2025

Meme Coins Drive Solana’s Ecosystem

According to Syndica, a firm dedicated to building the infrastructure of Solana, meme coins accounted for a staggering 62% of Solana’s decentralized app revenue in June, a record high that spoke volumes about the power of the meme economy. Solana, it seemed, had reaped the rewards of this digital frenzy, amassing $1.6 billion in revenue in 2025, with the lion’s share coming from meme coin-related activity.

Chart Signals Show SOL at Critical Breakout Point

As the debate raged on, analyst Ali Martinez cast a discerning eye on the charts, noting an important psychological threshold at $200. If Solana were to break above this level, he suggested, there would be “little to no resistance standing in the way of a run to new all-time highs.”

Notice that once Solana $SOL breaks above $200, there’s little to no resistance standing in the way of a run to new all-time highs.

— Ali (@ali_charts) July 26, 2025

The Glassnode URPD chart revealed a thin historical price distribution between $200 and the previous all-time high (ATH) zone. Specifically, over 36 million SOL tokens had last moved at the $165 mark, while only 21 million SOL had been transacted at the $200 level.

SOL Price Chart with Indicators | Source: TradingView

Trading near $192, SOL was inching closer to the apex of a triangle pattern. A breakout above the $200–$205 zone would confirm a move higher, aligning with Fibonacci resistance at 0.236 ($185.99) and potentially targeting new highs beyond $204.85.

If such gains were to materialize and Solana embraced a more utility-focused growth strategy, the SOL token might well become one of the best cryptos to buy before the end of the cycle and the year. Whether Yakovenko’s skepticism would be vindicated or proven wrong remained to be seen, but one thing was certain: the crypto world would continue to watch with bated breath. 🚀

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2025-07-28 18:20