Famed investor Cathie Wood says most memecoins will end up ‘worthless’

NEW YORK – Most of the so-called memecoins that are flooding the US$2.6 trillion (S$3.5 trillion) cryptocurrency space will probably end up “worthless,” according to famed investor Cathie Wood. 

The combination of blockchain technology and artificial intelligence is creating “millions” of meme cryptocurrencies that “are not going to be worth very much”, the Ark Investment Management founder and chief executive told Bloomberg Television on March 18, adding that her private funds are not putting money into these coins. 

Memecoins are a type of digital asset often inspired by jokes, current events or trends in popular culture.

In February, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said memecoins are not considered securities, so they will remain unregulated.

“If I have one message for those listening who are buying memecoins: buyer beware,” said Ms Wood. “There’s nothing like losing money for people to learn, and they’ll learn that the SEC and regulators are not taking responsibility for these memecoins.”

The digital tokens made headlines days before US President Donald Trump took office, when he launched a memecoin of himself. The coin attracted billions of dollars of trading volume in a short span of time, but has since plummeted in value. 

Memecoins will become “digital collectors’ items”, she said, adding that some will “withstand the judgment of time”, and Mr Trump’s memecoin may be one of them.

Ms Wood reiterated her bullish view on larger, more established crypto assets. She said that the use cases for Bitcoin, Ether and Solana are “multiplying” and will become important in the future.

The investor has frequently said that Bitcoin could surpass US$1 million by 2030.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency based on value is currently hovering under US$82,000, down about 13 per cent so far in 2025. BLOOMBERG