According to a report by "Decrypt," billionaire and former NBA Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is a well-known supporter of the meme coin Dogecoin (DOGE). However, in a recent interview, he stated that he believes every meme coin is a brewing Rug Pull scam—meaning a scheme to abscond with funds—but that’s also what makes them interesting.
"Every meme coin is a kind of brewing Rug Pull, right? Because it doesn't have a substantial reason to exist continuously, other than its fun factor," Cuban said in an interview on the "Rug Radio" program. "Meme coins are a kind of musical chairs game."
Cuban has been a supporter of Dogecoin, even accepting it as a payment method for purchasing NBA Dallas Mavericks merchandise. He has also claimed that Dogecoin has more application potential than Cardano, which is a Layer 1 blockchain created by Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson.
In this interview, he discussed major cryptocurrencies and their so-called advantages, whether it's Bitcoin as a store of value and a hedge against fiat currency, or Ethereum's smart contract functionality driving decentralized applications (dapps). But in his view, Dogecoin also has its value.
"And then there's Dogecoin, which exists more for fun and community, and that really depends on where you are. And I support all these coins; I see the fun in them, I see the utility, and I see the store of value, so it really depends on what you aspire to," Cuban said.
The meme coins that Cuban mentioned as potentially hiding Rug Pulls may refer to smaller market cap tokens, such as those launched on meme coin issuance platforms like Pump.fun and Moonshot, as these projects receive less support from major participants and companies. Most of these tokens exhibit rapid fluctuations and have rarely gained any significant traction, making it very few that can exist long-term.
Cuban explained, "Part of the meme coin game is timing, seeing if you're making money or losing money. It's like flipping a coin; it's like playing roulette. No one would be foolish enough to think this is a good investment—even if they all say on Reddit or Telegram, 'This is the best meme coin ever, To the moon baby!'”
Although Cuban compares meme coin trading to gambling, he admits that he also pays attention to meme coins and jokes about his mindset while trading: "'Should I buy some? No, don't be stupid, don't be stupid.' But you know, it's like flipping a coin, hoping for a good outcome. It's just a game."