Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson Brutally Thrashes Solana Memecoins

YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) — Charles Hoskinson called out the Solana memecoin ecosystem in a blunt interview with Scott Melker, warning that 99% of tokens on the chain will collapse. He said most Solana tokens follow pump-and-dump structures and enrich only insiders.

“They have to become sustainable quickly or otherwise people stop paying attention and they die out,”

Hoskinson said.

He argued that memecoins recycle capital instead of bringing new money to crypto. The Cardano founder said the system benefits creators over users.

“You’re moving water from one side of the bathtub to the other… the drain is open — it goes into the founder’s pocket.”

Hoskinson compared memecoins to past hype cycles, including ICOs and NFTs. He said they follow the same pattern of short-term speculation with no real development.

Solana Memecoin Market Cap Dropped 85% in 2025

The combined value of the top five Solana memecoins — Official Trump (TRUMP), Bonk (BONK), Fartcoin (FARTCOIN), Dogwifhat (WIF), and Pengu (PENGU) — has dropped by 86.78% from their 2025 peak of $81.83 billion. This decline translates to a loss of approximately $71.02 billion, bringing the current combined market cap to around $10.81 billion.

Data from Pump.Fun, Solana’s memecoin launchpad, shows a steep decline in activity. On Jan. 23, Solana recorded 71,738 new memecoins. As of April 1, only 9,000 tokens were launched.

Rising risk-off sentiment after Donald Trump’s tariff war announcement triggered this decline. Traders moved away from speculative assets, accelerating the memecoin crash.

SOL/ADA Chart Confirms Weakness

The Solana/ADA trading pair shows clear bearish pressure. On April 1, the pair dropped to 186.48, sliding from its recent peak near 196. This decline followed a rejection at the top, marking the start of a consistent downward movement.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) stands at 36.09, nearing the oversold territory. Its downward slope points to weakening momentum. Meanwhile, the price now trades below the 50-period Exponential Moving Average (EMA), which sits at 189.28, indicating that short-term sellers dominate the market.

At the same time, volume has picked up as the price dipped. This suggests increased selling activity, either from panic exits or traders entering short positions. Since the high on March 31, candles have continued to form lower highs, pushing the market downward step by step.

Support at 186 appears fragile. If the price breaks below it, the next possible level is around 182. The RSI also supports this view. It has failed to stay above the 60 mark, confirming that bulls haven’t regained strength. Sellers remain in control, and price action reflects that consistently.

Hoskinson Backs Bitcoin DeFi Over Memecoins

Hoskinson said Cardano will focus on Bitcoin DeFi rather than chasing memecoin trends. He confirmed Cardano’s plan to integrate Hydra, Aiken, and the Bitcoin Lightning Network into its infrastructure. A partnership with Maestro will help connect Bitcoin with Cardano’s UTXO model.

He said Bitcoin’s upgrades like Taproot have unlocked programmability. Cardano will now let Bitcoin holders use DeFi tools while staying in BTC. He expects full institutional demand for Bitcoin DeFi within three years.

“It’s still early days, but we are making methodical progress every step of the way,”

he told Melker.