Curve founder: Memecoins are the culprit that "destroys the image of cryptocurrency," while Bitcoin and DeFi are taking the blame.

The public image of cryptocurrency is facing severe challenges. Recently, a video linking the notorious criminal Jeffrey Epstein with Bitcoin went viral outside the community, prompting several DeFi leaders to discuss the industry’s crisis of trust. Curve Finance founder Michael Egorov bluntly pointed the finger at memecoins, criticizing the memecoin frenzy for not only scamming innocent retail investors but also tarnishing the reputation of DeFi and Bitcoin, which possess real intrinsic value.
(Background: Trump memecoin hosts a luncheon at Mar-a-Lago, $trump coin rebounds from historic lows)
(Additional context: Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi claims she knows nothing about the similarly named memecoin! Is she scared of $TRUMP?)

Table of Contents

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• Curve Founder Criticizes: Memecoins Destroyed Trust Outside the Community
• Epstein Video Goes Viral, Highlighting Public “Cognitive Bias”
• KOL Vicious Cycle and the “Identity Crisis” in the Crypto Space

Today (27th), several key opinion leaders (KOL) in the Web3 and DeFi sectors engaged in a profound conversation on social platform X about the “image crisis” of cryptocurrency, which unexpectedly revealed strong dissatisfaction within the industry regarding the “memecoin frenzy.”

Curve Founder Criticizes: Memecoins Destroyed Trust Outside the Community

This discussion attracted heavyweight figures—most notably a direct reply from Michael Egorov, founder of the well-known DeFi protocol Curve Finance. He unabashedly blamed the responsibility for the tarnished image of cryptocurrency on the rampant memecoin market.

Egorov harshly criticized: “This is the damage done by memecoins.” He pointed out that the general public (Normies) is constantly being fed the false notion that “memecoins are crypto” and brainwashed into believing that these tokens can make them rich overnight, only to be ruthlessly “scammed.”

What Egorov finds most unfair is that legitimate crypto projects (such as DeFi protocols, Bitcoin, etc.) have not benefited from the memecoin craze in terms of funding or price increases; instead, when retail investors lose everything due to memecoins, these projects that are genuinely building infrastructure must share the negative consequences of the industry’s trust bankruptcy.

This is the damage done by memecoins. Normies were told that memecoins ARE crypto and they will make them rich, then scammed everyone. Real crypto did not get any upside from that but gets all the downside in trust

— Michael Egorov (@newmichwill) March 27, 2026

Epstein Video Goes Viral, Highlighting Public “Cognitive Bias”

The trigger for this discussion stemmed from a recent post by crypto analyst Deebs DeFi. He observed that a video exploring the ties between the late notorious criminal Jeffrey Epstein and Bitcoin has gone viral in the outside community, accumulating millions of views.

Deebs DeFi pointed out that since the general public has long equated cryptocurrency with “crime, scams, and snake oil salesmen,” placing a figure like Epstein alongside Bitcoin perfectly caters to people’s “cognitive bias.” This reflects that the image of the crypto space in the public eye has plummeted, urgently requiring solutions to restore trust.

KOL Vicious Cycle and the “Identity Crisis” in the Crypto Space

In response to this trust crisis, renowned DeFi researcher Ignas also joined the discussion. He believes that cryptocurrency is currently experiencing a severe “identity crisis.” As traditional finance (TradFi) makes significant inroads, many institutions are choosing to build their own enterprise chains, gradually abandoning core values such as decentralization, permissionless access, and censorship resistance (for example, Farcaster’s founder shifting to a Stripe enterprise chain), leaving many early believers feeling disappointed.

Ignas further echoed Egorov’s criticism of memecoins, pointing out the distorted “incentive mechanisms” in the current market. He admitted that for KOLs, promoting tokens with real value (such as Curve’s CRV) is very difficult because it requires long-term building and effort to drive up prices. In contrast, issuing or shilling one’s own memecoin is extremely easy to control, not only allowing for a quick exit but also offering high short-term returns on investment (ROI).

This shortsighted, bad incentive cycle is not limited to a few influencers but is a systemic problem that pervades the entire ecosystem, continuously eroding the hard-earned public trust in the cryptocurrency industry.