Meme coins or better known as shitcoins as they hold no real use case (and in some cases like the ones released by the US president couple - $TRUMP and $MELANIA, even disclosing black on white that they have 0 ZERO use and no plan to have one) are in my opinion interfering with the growth of real coins. Why? Simply because new people in crypto are hyped and convinced to get into these meme coins and soon they will end up losing it all, while probably 0.01% getting it reach out of it. This is a real zero sum game where for someone to win, somebody else needs to lose. And it happens with meme coins over and over again and people simply don't want to learn their lesson or simply they don't know about it.
A negative aspect deriving from meme coins hype and fall is the fact that the trust of the participants into the crypto space will vanish as fast as these markets are crashing. And once that happens they will stay away from crypto like the devil from the incense. And this is when the real and true coins, with use cases are being also affected negatively. And I believe we need a way to differentiate between these and also make any existing or new investor acknowledgeable by it. Ok, if someone wants to invest in meme coins just for the volatility of it and to play the market that's fine, but everybody should understand that it has no value and that it is all about the hype and for the social aspect of it. Here are some of the perspectives that I've thought upon on how one affects the other.
Undermining trust in the market
When meme coin bubbles burst, they leave countless investors burned, which decreases the trust in the entire crypto ecosystem. People new to the space might think all cryptocurrencies are scams, painting real coins with the same brush. And once that happens, it will pass a long time to return back into this space and give it a new try, even if in a more informed way this time.
Creating a culture of speculation
The success of meme coins favors a gambling mentality in the crypto space, where people chase quick profits instead of long-term value. The legitimate projects are also affected by this, even if those are building sustainable ecosystems and providing genuine utility. But the money will vanish from everywhere and investors will be reluctant to continue and support these projects. And so will do the users themselves.
Noise for the investors
Meme coins often steal the spotlight from real projects that have strong fundamentals and real-world use cases. This diversion of attention means more noise, less capital and fewer supporters for projects that actually aim to solve problems.
Regulatory scrutiny
Meme coin hype and subsequent crashes often catch the attention of regulators for all the wrong reasons. This can lead to stricter regulations or even crackdowns that also affect serious blockchain projects trying to innovate. This is all that the central entities are waiting for, to justify "protecting" users with more controlling measures which in the end will impede the innovation and the speed of it.
What I see is that while meme coins might bring some excitement to the market, their long-term damage far outweighs their short-term hype. They just add noise, lower the trust, and threaten the progress of assets with real use cases. Crypto can be so much more than a gamble. It can change the financial world order by empowering individuals instead of intermediaries, but only if investors will see it positively evolving and not rise and fall so many times.