Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko has reignited debate in the crypto community by labeling meme coins and NFTs as “digital slop.”
Solana SOL $181.8 24h volatility: 4.3% Market cap: $98.05 B Vol. 24h: $11.91 B co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko stirred debate in the crypto community with his latest statement, branding meme coins and NFTs as “digital slop” lacking any intrinsic value, despite the fact that the majority of Solana’s ecosystem revenue comes from these two.
Meme Coins, NFTs are Loot Boxes
In a post on X, Yakovenko reignited the years-old debate over the fundamental worth of these digital assets.
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 came in response to Base creator Jesse Pollak, who argued that digital collectibles and meme coins possess inherent value in the same way traditional artwork does.
“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.
Despite his dismissive stance, Yakovenko acknowledged that Solana’s explosive growth wouldn’t have happened without meme coins. He compared this to Apple’s revenue model, suggesting that if not for loot boxes, even Apple’s profits would be negligible.
Absolutely. Without lootboxes ios would have negligible revenues for Apple.
— toly 🇺🇸 (@aeyakovenko) July 27, 2025
Meme Coins Drive Solana’s Ecosystem
According to Solana-focused infrastructure firm Syndica, meme coins accounted for a staggering 62% of Solana’s decentralized app revenue in June, the highest ever recorded.
Solana has already raked in $1.6 billion in revenue in 2025, the majority of it from meme coin-related activity.
Chart Signals Show SOL at Critical Breakout Point
Analyst Ali Martinez pointed to an important psychological threshold at $200, suggesting that if Solana breaks above $200, there’s “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. pic.twitter.com/AnqwqaC1m1
— Ali (@ali_charts) July 26, 2025
Glassnode’s URPD chart shows a thin historical price distribution between $200 and the previous ATH zone. Specifically, over 36 million SOL tokens were last moved at the $165 mark, while only 21 million SOL were transacted at the $200 level.
SOL Price Chart with Indicators | Source: TradingView
Currently trading near $192, SOL is inching closer to the triangle’s apex. A breakout would be confirmed above the $200–$205 zone, aligning with Fib resistance at 0.236 ($185.99) and targeting new highs beyond $204.85.
If such gains materialize and Solana adopts a more utility-focused growth, the SOL token could be one of the best crypto to buy before the cycle and the year ends.
next