Billionaire investor Mark Cuban took a “memecoin” swipe at Brian Armstrong on Monday, in response to Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) CEO’s call to revisit accredited investor rules in the U.S.
Armstrong Bats For Retail Investors Amid IPO Wave
Armstrong said on X that current rules unfairly restrict “retail investors” from early-stage private deals, forcing them to wait until IPOs, when much of the upside has already been captured.
“These rules were created with the best of intentions, to protect regular people from scams – a noble idea,” he added. “Unfortunately, in practice, they’ve often made it illegal to get richer, unless you’re already rich.”
His remarks follow the blockbuster stock market debut of Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX), which operated as a private company for over 24 years.
Artificial intelligence giants OpenAI and Anthropic are also on track to go public, having filed confidential paperwork for their respective IPOs earlier this month. OpenAI has remained a private company since 2015, while Anthropic has been privately held since 2021.
Cuban Jabs Armstrong
Accredited investor rules are set by the SEC, dictating who is legally permitted to invest in private markets. An individual qualifies if they have a net worth exceeding $1 million, excluding their primary residence, or earned more than $200,000 in each of the last two years.
However, Cuban saw the funny side of it.
“Just sell em MemeCoins, Brian,” the “Shark Tank” star said, as if implying that memecoins are an already accessible way for retail investors to chase big upside without needing accredited status.
However, the cryptocurrency crowd was not amused at his take, with some accusing him of bitterness due to his recent “losses” in the market.
Cuban’s cheeky take also led to the creation of CUBEN, a Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) meme coin parodying him. The token was up 195% in the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap, although with very thin liquidity.
Is Cuban Done With Crypto?
Cuban is the same person who once aggressively endorsed Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) as a hedge against inflation, only to sell “most” of it because it didn’t turn out to be the shield he expected it to be.
He also expressed his dissatisfaction with cryptocurrency in general, arguing it hasn’t come up with an “application for grandma.” He referred to memecoins as “garbage.”
It’s worth adding that Cuban was one of the most vocal advocates of Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) , and the NBA team Dallas Mavericks, of which he is a minority owner today, began accepting DOGE as payment for tickets and merchandise
Mark Cuban | Photo courtesy: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com
Recent Comments