Kronish vs meme tokens: Where is the true future of Decentralized Finance?

Last week, Andry Cronje made a statement on X, directly dissing the current meme coin trend. The core viewpoint of this DeFi master is: The popular meme tokens right now do not incentivize innovation at all; they are just consumer activities built on the old community.

He said this - while meme coins can theoretically unite the community by “giving long-time users who accompany the project through tough times a little benefit,” the reality is: this thing can only allow insiders to make money, and the risk for retail investors is sky-high. Moreover, based on the experience of migrating from FTM to S, there has not been a significant wealth effect.

So what is worth paying attention to? Cronje named a few backbone projects in Decentralized Finance:

• Shadow (Sonic on-chain)
• Metropolis
• NaviEx
• Vertex Protocol

These projects have practical application scenarios and can replace the functions of centralized exchanges. He also mentioned that the gaming sector has opportunities—some blockchain games are indeed making meaningful innovations that can attract new users and enhance activity.

Final harsh words: Cronje says his new plan for 2025 will define “the next generation of Decentralized Finance” and could even surpass CEX. But the community's reaction is very calm—everyone understands that the golden age of memes has passed and it's time to return to the essence.

Core Logic: Make quick money or build a long-term ecosystem? This is the ultimate question facing all Decentralized Finance projects.