The Barstool founder, Dave Portnoy, spilled the tea about the wild world of meme coins during a chill chat with Bullish CEO Tom Farley. The convo went down on May 15, 2025, at Consensus 2025, where Portnoy straight-up said he doesn’t think meme coins are gonna stick around. He’s usually all about pumping up meme coins on social media, but now he’s having some doubts.
Portnoy, the dude behind Barstool Sports, let everyone in on his rollercoaster ride in the meme coin game. He talked about raking in the cash, getting caught up in legal drama, and dealing with some serious hate from the online world. He loves the thrill of it all, but wonders if it’s worth all the negativity that comes with it. The chat also touched on the hype and speculation that fuels the crypto scene, especially when it comes to meme coins — tokens that are more about jokes than actual use.
The whole meme coin journey started with SafeMoon, a token that blew up during the COVID crypto craze. Portnoy saw people making insane gains on social media, so he jumped in. But then he got hit with a lawsuit for allegedly being paid to promote SafeMoon, which cost him 20 grand to settle. Undeterred, he kept going. He even thought about creating his own Barstool coin, but instead, he ended up losing big bucks on a meme coin called Libra that turned out to be a total bust. He eventually got his money back, but not before feeling the sting of the crypto world’s ups and downs.
Despite the setbacks, Portnoy didn’t give up. He launched more meme coins like Greed and Greed 2, poking fun at the whole scene. He even embraced a coin called JailStool that came out of the backlash against his meme coin adventures. At one point, he claimed to turn a 1,000 buck investment into a whopping 7 million in just an hour. But like all good things, it didn’t last. Portnoy has faced accusations of shady dealings and rug pulls, where early investors bail out and leave others hanging.
The whole experience has made Portnoy rethink his involvement in meme coins. He’s not sure if he’s down for launching Greed 3, and he’s starting to see the dark side of the meme coin game. He even had a run-in with a guy who lost 200 grand on one of his meme coins, showing him that real money is on the line. Despite the fun and games, Portnoy thinks the meme coin craze is on its last legs. He sees it as a form of gambling and a Ponzi scheme, and he’s not sure if it’s sustainable in the long run.
So, while Portnoy doesn’t have all the answers, he’s definitely got some doubts about where meme coins are headed. He thinks they might stick around for a few more years, but after that, who knows? The future of meme coins is uncertain, but for now, Portnoy’s keeping a close eye on the ever-changing crypto landscape.
