Portnoy: Meme Coins Are Gambling, Not Built to Last
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy delivered a blunt assessment of the cryptocurrency meme coin phenomenon, characterizing the digital tokens as unsustainable gambling vehicles rather than legitimate long-term investments. “I don’t think it’s here to stay,” Portnoy stated during a candid discussion at Consensus 2025 in Toronto, describing meme coins as “a form of gambling, it’s a Ponzi scheme, I don’t mean that in a negative way,” according to CoinDesk.
Portnoy’s remarks come amid heightened public interest in meme coins following President Donald Trump’s promotion of his own token, which recently offered top holders exclusive dinner access with the president—a move that has generated both investment enthusiasm and ethical scrutiny.
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Personal Rollercoaster Experience
Speaking with Bullish CEO Tom Farley at the conference, Portnoy recounted his own tumultuous journey in the meme coin space, beginning with SafeMoon, one of the earliest viral tokens of the COVID-era crypto boom. Despite making a video mocking the token’s lack of real value, Portnoy faced legal consequences, sharing that it “cost me $20k to get out of the lawsuit” after being accused of promoting the coin despite never being paid to do so.
His cryptocurrency adventures continued with a $4.5 million purchase of a token called Libra, allegedly backed by Argentina’s president—a claim later disavowed by the president himself, resulting in Portnoy losing his entire investment. In a surprising turn, he reported that the developer later reimbursed him in full, though he remains unsure why, acknowledging, “I’m one of the lucky ones.”
Extreme Volatility and Rigged Systems
Portnoy highlighted the extraordinary volatility of meme coins through his own experience with tokens called Greed and Greed 2, which he launched as satirical ventures. He reported that an investment in another coin, JailStool, saw a $1,000 stake balloon to $7 million within a single hour—gains that took him “13 years to make that kind of money at Barstool.”
The media entrepreneur described meme coins as fundamentally rigged marketplaces, “dominated by a core group of early buyers with trading bots and algorithms who know when to exit,” creating a system with “the same group of winners and it’s the same group of losers.” This realization appears to have tempered his enthusiasm despite the potential for massive short-term gains, particularly as he encountered real-world consequences of investors’ losses.
Real-World Consequences
Portnoy’s perspective shifted following face-to-face confrontations with investors who suffered substantial losses in meme coin investments he had promoted. He recounted being confronted by a man in a Las Vegas casino who claimed to have lost $200,000, noting that “it’s all fun and games behind the computer” until confronted with the reality that “people are losing and making real money.”
These encounters have made him more cautious about promoting speculative digital assets, despite his continued fascination with their potential for explosive short-term gains. While he teased the possible launch of a new token called Greed 3, he admitted that the backlash has become increasingly difficult to manage as his influence has grown.
Limited Timeframe for Phenomenon
Despite his criticisms, Portnoy acknowledged the appeal of meme coins for certain investors, stating, “I get why people like it.” However, he provided a specific timeframe for the phenomenon, predicting that while meme coins might persist “for the next four years,” their long-term viability remains questionable.
This assessment aligns with growing concerns among financial regulators and traditional market analysts who view meme coins as primarily speculative vehicles disconnected from underlying value, despite their popularity with retail investors. Portnoy’s comments reflect a broader debate about the sustainability of investment products driven primarily by social media hype and celebrity endorsements rather than fundamental economic principles.
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