At TOKEN2049 one of the largest cryptocurrency events in the world, held in Singapore, an unsavoury incident happened that caused heated discussions within the community. As per media sources, Controversy began when the Australian rapper Iggy Azalea openly dissed Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin for his spontaneous singing in what can be considered as two entirely different universes—hip hop and blockchain.
Although she didn’t call Vitalik Buterin by name, her words were quite direct. “I don’t complain about watching you all mumble around on conference stages singing songs about crypto or other loser s— I’d be embarrassed as f— to post,” Azalea said on her social media, which is a clear reference to Buterin’s performance.
Azalea Defends Her Las Vegas Crypto Event
The rapper made the comment recently after her own crypto-themed party in Las Vegas was met with controversy. The live performance that took place in order to popularise Azalea’s meme coin, **MOTHER**, and her new casino project, Motherland, stirred controversy in multiple realms of the crypto space.
As for the criticism, Azalea, who is known in real life as Amethyst Amelia Kelly, took several shots at the bashers on Twitter. Many have also questioned how she managed to get an invite to the event; she tweeted, “You’d cry if you knew who was in that building”. I also stood up for my activities in the cryptocurrency market, stating that I am equally qualified to promote my projects as everyone else.
Her meme coin, **MOTHER**, has fluctuated a lot since it began trading in May 2024. Its value, which first rose to more than 1400% within the first week, has since receded more than 70% from its peak point. Still, the coin registered a growth of over 22 per cent popular by the attention generated by Azalea’s event and her social media posts, as retrieved from crypto sources.
Iggy Azalea Prefers Solana Over Ethereum
However, it did not end with ridiculing Vitalik Buterin’s performance, where Azalea also took the time to share her opinion about Ethereum. She also chose Ethereum and attacked it by stating that she uses Solana much better for performance reasons and for retail growth. Azalea recalls informing a “tradfi guy” of his intention to invest in Solana instead of Ethereum while on a flight.
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To further cement her stance for the Solana ecosystem over Ethereum, Azalea tweeted that their network is better at dealing with congestion. For instance, she took a screenshot of a Google search that read that Solana had a more efficient network than Ethereum, a fact she used to support the use of the Solana blockchain.
Some of this support might come from the fact that the rapper is a supporter of the Solana ecosystem because her meme coin is the **MOTHER** token which is on the Solana network.
Crypto Community Divided Over Celebrity Involvement
The event has somehow reignited the now-familiar discussion about celebrities in cryptocurrency investment. Some people in the crypto world supported Azalea, but others expressed doubts. Take, for example, when Andrew Saunders, the Chief Marketing and Growth Officer for Skale, a blockchain that uses Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), said the following: “I am from Hollywood, and I would never invest in a celebrity memecoin, and you are going to get dumped on,” Saunders told crypto media outlet during TOKEN2049.
However, even senior people like Vitalik Buterin have also opined that celebrities have no business investing in the crypto market. Earlier in June, he voiced his concern on X.com (formerly Twitter), writing: Well, I must say that I am quite unhappy about this cycle’s celebrity experimentation so far. What can we do to make things better?
Despite her beef with Vitalik Buterin, which potentially led people to focus on the rapper’s activities in the field of cryptocurrencies, the rapper’s words have contributed to the emergence of a discussion related to the participation of celebrities in the formation of public opinion within the cryptocurrency industry.
Final Take on Iggy Azalea and Vitalik Buterin’s Recent Spat
This article also brings an example of the conflict between Iggy Azalea and Vitalik Buterin, which shows the difference in working between celebrity and global blockchains. Although Azalea’s comments have been met with some reception in the crypto community, there are issues with increasing celebrity participation, especially in an industry primarily associated with technicality. Continued discussions about celebrity endorsements and their outcomes have one point—that is, cryptocurrency is still a very risky business, even for influential personalities. Keep following TheBITJournal and keep an eye on the latest crypto updates and developments.
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