Mark Cuban Explains Why He Doesn't Invest in Meme Coins Like HAWK

As the name implies, meme coins aren't meant to be taken seriously. Some may help investors make a quick profit, while others lose their value right away

Mark Cuban isn’t a fan of meme coins, and he explained why in a recent YouTube interview with social media personality Jules Terpak.

"I'm not a fan of meme coins," the 66-year-old billionaire said. "Obviously, it's a hustle. There's no there there. And so it's just like a game of musical chairs with money. Some people make money and some people won't."

Cuban's response was in reference to the HAWK coin's digital debut from early December. HAWK was launched by 22-year-old Haliey Welch as a reference to the fact that she's been known as the "hawk-tuah" girl since her comments during a man-on-the-street style interview went viral.

HAWK spiked to a near $500 million market capitalization before it plummeted to $28 million about 24 hours later, according to DEX Screener, a platform that tracks data for various tokens.

The situation made Cuban empathize with Welch. "It wasn't something she fully understood, but she trusted the people around her," he said. "I'm not mad at Haliey at all. I feel bad for her that she got put in this position. … She'll be fine and, you know, what's done is done."

Investors sued the group behind HAWK on Thursday, alleging that they failed to register the meme coin properly.

"I am fully cooperating with and am committed to assisting the legal team representing the individuals impacted, as well as to help uncover the truth, hold the responsible parties accountable, and resolve this matter," Welch posted to X on Friday.

Welch did not immediately respond to CNBC Make It's request for comment.

Some meme coins stand out, but most don't have staying power

It takes special circumstances for a meme coin to thrive, Cuban pointed out. "Doge became a meme coin that developed a community," he said. "If there's a meme that develops a community so that it's almost like a lottery ticket that everyone gets to talk about, then it's not great, but it's okay."

"You saw people on Reddit continuously going, 'To the moon!'" Cuban added, showing the enthusiasm community members had. "But if it's just a meme coin and all we're doing is memeing it," then it doesn't work as an investment with staying power.

That doesn't mean that Cuban avoids taking chances on cryptocurrency altogether. He lost money after investing in a coin called Titan, which crashed in June 2021, he said. The "Shark Tank" star also invested in Polygon (MATIC) and Injective (INJ), he wrote in a January post on X, which has since been deleted.

Some crypto performed well in 2024, especially Bitcoin, which hit $100,000 in early December. And meme coins like DOGE and Shiba Inu surged in November after former president Donald Trump won a second term.

Still, experts predict that these gains will slow. "We expect token prices to diverge in the near term as [bitcoin] and cash flow-generating tokens that power networks will outperform meme tokens," Bank of America analyst Alkesh Shah told CNBC earlier this month. 

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