Changpeng Zhao, CEO of leading crypto exchange Binance, admitted that while he has not invested in meme tokens like dogecoin and shiba inu, they demonstrate the power of decentralization.
“To be honest, I don’t buy dogecoins,” the famous CEO told the Associated Press. But this shows the power of decentralization. It doesn’t matter what I think or not,” he said.
“If enough people in the community value it because it’s cute, because they like the meme, then it has value.”
Retail investors have turned their attention to newer and lesser-known coins that have become popular because they offer very high returns compared to more established assets. Thanks to this, meme coins gained popularity. For example, dogecoin is up 4.936% to date, while shiba inu has gained 63.870.000%. In contrast, Bitcoin is up 108% since the start of the year, while ETH is up 474%.
Speaking to AP, the manager said, “Dogecoin has endured for many years. It went up and down, up and down, but it kept going,” he said.
“We now have shiba, which is also a meme coin. We have many more meme coins. For something to be valuable, you only need one person willing to buy it.”
Dogecoin was founded in December 2013 with the hopes of becoming “a fun and friendly internet currency”. The Shiba inu was founded in August 2020 with the goal of moving away from “solid social structures and traditional mindsets”.
Many people see meme tokens as a joke, but exchanges are attracting attention by listing them. Crypto exchange Gemini, for example, added shiba inu to its platform this week, following the meme token’s stunning rally this year, joining exchanges like Binance, Coinbase, Public, Crypto.com, and eToro.
“For something to have liquidity, you need a lot of people willing to buy or sell it,” Zhao said. “Once you have liquidity, something has value relative to the neutral market. Therefore, it is not for me to judge him.”