Mark Cuban has never shied away from letting other business leaders know exactly what he thinks of them.
Known for his years spent as a judge on Shark Tank, the billionaire and tech founder has garnered a following in part because of his pro-cryptocurrency stance.
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Cuban has praised major cryptos such as Bitcoin (~BTCUSD) and Ethereum (~ETHUSD) , touting the benefits of investing in Bitcoin over holding gold.
His support isn’t limited to the market’s most valuable cryptos, though. In 2021, Cuban opted to allow the Dallas Mavericks, the National Basketball Association (NBA) team he owns, to start accepting the popular meme coin Dogecoin (~USDDOGE) as a payment.
But Cuban isn’t so supportive of all meme coins. He’s been a vocal critic of the tokens recently launched by Donald and Melania Trump. Recently, he took aim at a major crypto CEO over a proposed change, making clear exactly where he stands.
Cuban thinks a major crypto CEO is making a huge mistake
In the days leading up to President Trump’s inauguration, the launch of the official TRUMP and MELANIA coins sent shockwaves through the crypto world as prices surged. These tokens demonstrated significant gains, soaring on momentum from the national focus on Trump.
In typical meme coin fashion, the tokens inspired by the new President and First Lady haven’t been able to retain their previous momentum, both quickly dipping into the red. As tokens inspired by internet memes or trends, meme coins are often highly volatile in nature.
Related: Mark Cuban makes scathing crypto prediction as Trump takes office
Many people have expressed concern about their long-term value and Cuban is one of them. He recently predicted in a Bluesky post that “It’s just a matter of time until a lot of people lose money from this,” adding that the TRUMP coin is not actually a crypto.
Two days ago, Cuban offered further commentary on crypto, though not directly on the Trump and Melania coins. Coinbase Global (COIN) CEO Brian Armstrong recently posted to X that he believes more flexibility for the exchange listing process for new cryptos is needed.
“Regulators need to understand that applying for approval for each one is totally infeasible at this point,” he stated, noting that there are currently over one million new tokens being created each week.
Cuban responded to Armstrong’s post, arguing there are so many new cryptos because of the lack of a registration process and that to implement Armstrong’s plan would be a ‘huge mistake’. He also offered a potential solution:
No. Huge mistake. There are 1m tokens a week because there is no registration. We need a simple registration form that is tailored towards meme coins. There are enough KYC tools that can make it same day approval, with a fee to cover costs.
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) January 26, 2025
Otherwise the junk will… https://t.co/t2Vrte4GEu
Crypto and AI commentator Brian Krassenstein echoed Cuban’s claims, stating that the “free-for-all” for which Armstrong is advocating could result in bigger problems for the industry.
Krassenstein isn’t the only expert who sees Cuban’s registration proposal as a likely solution for the problem highlighted by Armstrong. Mitchell DiRaimondo, Lead Project Manager and Founder of Steelwave Digital spoke to TheStreet, issuing a similar take, though he also sees the potential for complications.
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“Cuban’s proposal could provide a more structured framework without hindering creativity,” he states. DiRaimondo adds, though, that “Applying such standards universally to meme coins might strain resources and overlook the nuanced needs of legitimate, complex projects.”
The future of crypto could be complicated
As a known crypto investor and advocate, Cuban seems concerned about the future of the industry. With Donald Trump, seen as the previous election’s pro-crypto candidate, in the White House, leading cryptos such as Bitcoin have enjoyed significant growth recently.
But Cuban’s concern seems to be an element that DiRaimondo sums up well: That the “lack of standardized processes for token issuance has created a Wild West environment.
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In this setting new tokens can be launched with little to no oversight, ultimately flooding the market with highly volatile new cryptos.
As DiRaimondo notes, “The larger issue isn’t just about meme coins but about restoring trust and legitimacy in the broader digital asset ecosystem. By introducing structured yet flexible regulatory mechanisms, we could see a resurgence of institutional confidence in tokenized assets.”
Jim Flint, CEO and Founder of Local Search Group also offers a potential solution, one that Cuban would likely approve of. He proposes using a higher entrance for those issuing new tokens, drawing a parallel to the posting fee that Elon Musk introduced at X.
“If you put a fee into the mix--just like Elon did with X you'll create a higher barrier to entry,” he argues. “Better yet put a liquidity requirement on the issuers of the coins. When meme coin issuers are required to tie up even a minimal amount of capital for a given period of time you'll separate the wheat from the chaff. Quickly.”
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