If Kanye’s Memecoin Hits Top Signal, Crypto Has Truly Jumped the Shark

When celebrity vanity tokens dominate crypto chatter, it's time to ask hard questions about market maturity—or lack thereof.

Signals in the Noise

Kanye West's rumored entry into memecoins sparks debate: is this crypto's creative peak or its credibility valley? Markets once driven by tech breakthroughs now pivot on celebrity whims. Traders chase buzz over fundamentals, flipping speculative assets on viral potential alone.

The Institutional Cringe

Traditional finance eyes the circus from afar—hedge funds smirk while retail piles in. Remember when blockchain promised to overhaul finance? Now it's propping up digital collectibles backed by famous names and empty promises. The irony bites hard: decentralization dreams sidelined for centralized celebrity influence.

Wake-Up Call or Snooze Button?

Either crypto evolves beyond meme mania or risks becoming a permanent sideshow. Real-world assets, regulatory clarity, and scalable solutions wait in the wings while the main stage hosts influencer pump-and-dumps. Maybe the market needs this reality check—a splash of cold water masked as a celebrity tweet.

Here’s the cynical finance jab: Wall Street still laughs all the way to the bank while crypto bros celebrate digital Beanie Babies.

Bottom line: If Kanye’s coin becomes a top metric, we’ve strayed far from Satoshi’s vision—and maybe that’s exactly the shake-up the space needs.

Maybe so. Although the top signals were much, much louder last time around.

For one thing, Yeezy has fallen off. I’m not sure YZY on Meteora in 2025 will ever have the same impact as if it was sold at the height of the Yeezy brand circa 2020.

Still, I spent my morning going over archives of crypto headlines from the tail-end of the monster 2021 bull market.

What were the signs that crypto WOULD peak at a $3-trillion market cap in the second week of November? 

Any top signal would need to come within six months of that cycle peak, I decided. You probably remember that 2021 saw two major tops, in May and November, so really any signal that came before May would’ve ultimately pointed to much higher prices (making them bullish signals).

And yeah, hindsight is 20/20. But tell me that these headlines weren’t screaming that a top was soon near.

“FTX Closes $900M Series B Round Valuing Exchange at $18B” — July 20, 2021 (yes, that’s a $900-million raise).

“Tim Berners-Lee sells web source code NFT for $5.4m” — June 30, 2021 (132 days until top).

“CityCoins Community Officially Launches with MiamiCoin, Its First City-Based Token” — August 3, 2021 (remember these?)

“El Salvador buys Bitcoin as the digital currency becomes legal tender” — September 6, 2021.

“OpenSea admits insider trading of NFTs it promoted” — September 16, 2021 (arguably the most compelling yet).

“China declares all crypto-currency transactions illegal” — September 2, 2021 (68 days until top).

“Coinbase’s New Direct Deposit Feature Allows Users to Get Paychecks in Crypto” — September 27, 2021.

“TikTok Is Auctioning Its NFT Collection Featuring Lil Nas X, Grimes, Bella Poarch, More” — October 1, 2021 (NFT = Nearly Freakin’ Top).

“Celsius Valued at $3.25B After $400M Raise Amid Regulatory Headwinds” — October 12, 2021 (narrator: Celsius would file for bankruptcy nine months later and its CEO would eventually be sentenced to 12 years’ prison for fraud).

“Bahamas-based crypto exchange FTX raises a $420.69M Series B-1 at a $25B valuation from 69 investors, including BlackRock and Tiger Global” — October 21, 2021 (I mean, this one was a doozy, especially paired with the Celsius saga).

“Facebook Changes Company Name to Meta in Focus on Metaverse” — October 28, 2021 (12 days until top).

“Incoming NYC Mayor Eric Adams: Pay Me In Bitcoin” — November 4, 2021.

“Crypto Is Cool. Now Get on the Yacht” — November 5, 2021 (all about NFT.NYC, the New York conference that attracted a record 5,000 attendees just four days before the top).

“About 5% of Sotheby’s, Christie’s Contemporary Art Auctions Are NFTs” — November 8, 2021 (one day before the top).

To cap it off, Coinbase’s Q3 earnings were even released on the exact day that crypto peaked. Revenue had dropped 39%, from $2 billion to just over $1.2 billion, lower than estimates, and the number of monthly transacting users dipped 16%. COIN tanked 12% in postmarket trading as a result.

So, does a lame ChatGPT 5 release, a new SPAC from Chamath, Meta hiring freeze and a memecoin from washed entertainer stack up to this monumental run of headlines? Not really. 

But then again, it may be another cycle or two before crypto runs back its cultural significance, as it was in 2021. The signals might be quieter this time around.

Was Katy Perry a top signal in 2022?

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