River Financial CEO, Alex Leishman, cautions cryptocurrency exchanges about the constant cycle they may trap themselves in when they decide to list their initial altcoin. According to him, once an exchange begins to list a non-Bitcoin token, it’s like stepping onto an unending treadmill of memecoins.
In a post dated March 29, Leishman remarked, “Listing Ethereum (ETH) won’t make sense unless you also list tokens issued on ETH. The same applies to Solana. By doing this, you are essentially signing up for an infinite cycle of memecoins.” Despite the success of numerous crypto casinos, Leishman affirms that he has no interest in creating one.
River Financial, where Leishman heads, is a Bitcoin-only financial institution that specializes in buying and selling Bitcoin (BTCUSD). Other firms have also adopted the Bitcoin-only strategy, including Swan Bitcoin, Bull Bitcoin, and decentralized exchange Bisq.
Leishman asserts that multi-asset trading platforms are more focused on short-term speculation rather than long-term wealth accumulation. He further criticized the casino business model stating, “This model is primarily designed to maximize customer extraction, while a Bitcoin-only model is aimed at aiding individuals in building lasting wealth.” This point of view has been echoed by critics, especially during the memecoin uptrend in early 2024.
Eddy Lazzarin, A16z’s CTO, voiced similar sentiments in April 2024, stating that memecoins are detrimental to the long-term perspective of crypto, which has kept many original crypto pioneers engaged in the field.
As of the start of 2025, the overall memecoin market cap has experienced a significant downturn, with almost a 49% slump since January 1, reducing to $48.49 billion at the time of writing, as per CoinMarketCap data.
Despite the historical volatility of altcoins compared to Bitcoin, offering them alongside Bitcoin has proven profitable for crypto exchanges and brokers. For instance, Robinhood, which provides various cryptocurrencies to its customers, reported a whopping 700% YoY surge in Q4 2024 cryptocurrency revenue.
Many traders interpret a memecoin listing on an exchange as a credibility endorsement. Ai_9684xtpa, a pseudonymous onchain analyst, reported in November that 12 out of the 15 memecoins listed by Binance in 2024 saw significant value increases post-listing.
Bobby Ong, CoinGecko founder, recently speculated that the memecoin market could be moving toward an “extreme case of power law,” where 99.99% fail, with only a few succeeding and enduring at the top.
