Nic Carter: The era of meme coins as fair trading opportunities has ended, regulators may take action against insider trading

Castle Island Ventures partner Nic Carter stated that the era of meme coins as a fair trading opportunity is "undoubtedly over."

Carter believes meme coins (tokens with almost no utility other than speculative trading) were initially attractive because they seemed to provide retail investors with a level playing field. However, with the emergence of scandals like the LIBRA coin, the market has been replaced by insiders, pre-issue trades, and bot-driven exchanges, putting everyday traders at a disadvantage.

He wrote: "The whole premise of meme coins was that they provided a 'fair launch' opportunity, giving retail investors the same chance as funds and VCs, but this has been exposed as a lie—the casino is not fair."

Although Carter believes the recent trading frenzy has ended since the launch of TRUMP by U.S. President Donald Trump, he pointed out that the industry will not disappear. Instead, there may still be some new token issuances and a few winners, but "the meme era is over."

As confidence in meme coins gradually fades, Carter expects regulators to take action against insider trading in the industry. "Just because meme coins might not be securities doesn’t mean insider trading has no responsibility," he said, predicting that blockchain transaction histories will lead to future enforcement actions.

Looking ahead, Carter believes the market will shift towards more sustainable and fair token issuances. (CoinDesk)