Racist meme coins proliferate, here’s how

The cryptocurrency sector is a breeding ground for viral, community-driven projects, but the rise of racist meme coins has ignited debates about the limits of decentralization.

This issue is gaining renewed attention after rapper Kanye West, who now goes by “Ye,” announced plans to launch a so-called “Swasticoin” in a series of controversial social media posts.

West’s statements, which included antisemitic remarks about the Jewish community, mark a shift from his previous criticism of celebrity-backed coins that “prey” on fans.

On Saturday, West seemingly changed his mind.

“I’m going to open the CA [contract address] for my Swasticoin to Jewish people and my friends and family first,” he wrote. Alongside this announcement, the “Jesus Walks” singer appeared to seek guidance on blockchain networks like Ethereum, Solana and BNB Chain, while also attempting to contact Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao.

The posts sparked backlash, but they also highlighted a broader issue: the increasing number of meme coins promoting extremist ideology.

A troubling trend

Ye’s proposed token is not an isolated case. Over the past year, a wave of racist and offensive tokens have launched, prompting discussions about whether decentralized platforms should implement content moderation.

Some of these tokens used racial slurs or Nazi imagery in their branding, attempting to gain traction in online extremist communities.

“Hitler Musk,” for example, appeared on Pump.fun about a month ago after X owner Elon Musk, while speaking at President Donald Trump’s inauguration event, did a straight-a rm salute twice (observers interpreted it as a reference to Nazi-fascism).

Before that, in 2021, a token named “HITLER” briefly surfaced before being delisted from exchanges. Another coin, “Groyper,” has been linked to far-right online communities.

Despite the fleeting nature of these projects, their presence underscores how blockchain technology—while open and permissionless—can be exploited to spread harmful ideologies.

Who’s addressing the issue?

As racist meme coins proliferate, some in the crypto industry are taking steps to curb their spread. The Solana Foundation has acknowledged the problem, with Austin Federa, the foundation’s head of strategy, suggesting that in-app filtering could be a potential solution.

This would allow wallet apps and decentralized exchanges to screen out tokens with offensive names or imagery. However, implementing such measures in a decentralized system remains a challenge.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has also criticized the rise of meme coins associated with dictatorships and racist themes, calling for higher-quality projects in the crypto space.

Last March, Buterin expressed concern over the growing number of speculative assets that provide little value beyond short-term hype. He specifically pointed to Solana-based meme coins that he described as “openly super-racist” and condemned tokens linked to totalitarian regimes.

Buterin emphasized that he has “zero enthusiasm” for projects driven by scams, rugpulls, or fleeting excitement that ultimately disappoints investors.

But, in today’s day and age, where anyone can launch a token with meme coin generators (i.e., Pump.fun) without oversight. As a result, the problem persists.

What’s Next?

According to Coindesk, West’s planned token—possibly named “YZY” rather than “Swasticoin”—is intended as a workaround for Shopify’s restrictions on his Yeezy store. Reports suggest he plans to keep 70% of the token’s supply for himself, further fueling speculation that this is more about financial gain than ideology.

This would align with Ye’s previous attempts to monetize Nazi imagery, including selling T-shirts labeled “HH-01” (widely interpreted as shorthand for “Heil Hitler”), which were removed after a Super Bowl ad directed traffic to his website.

Despite Ye’s claim that the token will launch next week, it remains unclear if the project will materialize—or if it is another instance of inflammatory rhetoric designed to provoke outrage. His latest post simply read: “Time to launch my own blockchain,” leaving his actual crypto ambitions uncertain.

West was reportedly inspired by Official Trump (TRUMP), the meme coin President Trump launched two days before his second inauguration. It’s currently down 78% from its all-time high.

Trump raised eyebrows for his similarly massive insider-ownership distribution: 80% of TRUMP is currently held by CIC Digital, a business entity with ties to the president.

Ye, too, wanted an 80% ownership stake but was negotiated down to 70%, CoinDesk. Should his token achieve even a fraction of TRUMP’s success, his stake could still be worth many millions of dollars.

What is certain, however, is that racist meme coins continue to test the boundaries of crypto’s “wild-west” nature while industry leaders grapple with how to moderate offensive content.