Dogecoin Co-Creator Says Mark Cuban 'Drunk The Kool-Aid' With Crypto And NFTs

Dogecoin DOGE/USD co-creator Jackson Palmer said that billionaire investor Mark Cuban and some high-profile venture capitalists have “drunk the Kool-Aid” with respect to cryptocurrencies and NFTs.

What Happened: In a recent interview with Business Insider, Palmer said that unlike celebrities that get paid to promote certain crypto projects, Cuban seems to actually buy into the idea of crypto.

“Mark Cuban isn't getting paid as a celebrity to promote this stuff. He actually has kind of been indoctrinated into believing that these things are the future,” said Palmer. 

The Dogecoin co-founder went on to say that by funding the crypto space, Cuban and VCs like Andreessen Horowitz’s Marc Andreessen and Chris Dixon are actually running a type of grift.

“That is more of a grift to me in that they actively see it as an ongoing way to extract profit — it's not like they've been paid once off to promote something — it’s that they want to be the ones that are in control or have ownership or a large stake in this kind of extractive, grifty system of cryptocurrency,” he said.

Also Read: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin Surge Higher Into The Weekend: What's Happening?

Cuban reportedly shrugged off Palmers statements when Business Insider asked for his take on them.

"Sounds like the same thing that has been said about every new technology I've been involved in," Cuban said to Business Insider in a statement. In another statement to Decrypt, the Shark Tank investor said, “some people get caught up in the speculation side [of crypto]. I don’t.”

Speaking at the 2022 Code conference earlier this week, Cuban, who declared himself an Ethereum ETH/USD maxi, said he believes that crypto is “kind of boring” now because it lacks newer applications to take it forward.

Price Action: At press time, DOGE was trading at $0.064 and ETH was trading at $1,719, up 3% and 5% respectively in the 24-hours.

Photo: Courtesy of Gage Skidmore on flickr