Mark Cuban Proposes Meme Coin to Tackle $36 Trillion National Debt

DALLAS, Texas — Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban floated the idea of launching his own meme coin this week, proposing to use the proceeds to help pay off the U.S. national debt, which has ballooned to a record $36 trillion.

“If meme coins are the way, maybe I’ll issue one,” Cuban posted on X, formerly Twitter. He suggested the coin would follow the same terms and release schedule as the controversial $Trump token but with a key difference: “All the revenue from the sale of the coins go to the US Treasury.”

Cuban, a prominent investor and minority owner of the Dallas Mavericks, emphasized the potential benefits of his proposal. “If you want to gamble, gamble. But at least use it to make a dent in the US Debt,” he wrote. The U.S. national debt has roughly tripled over the past two decades, with interest payments surpassing $1 trillion annually due to rising interest rates.

The billionaire, who made his fortune by selling Broadcast.com to Yahoo during the dot-com bubble, has been a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump and his family’s foray into meme coins. Cuban argued that $Trump and Melania Trump‘s $Melania tokens could harm the cryptocurrency industry. “If you want crypto to grow and establish value and utility that truly benefits the issuer and the buyer, then the last thing you want to see is shit coins being issued by FLOTUS and POTUS,” he said.

Trump’s meme coin, $Trump, has faced widespread criticism, as 80% of its supply is owned by entities tied to the former president. Critics argue that purchasing the coin effectively funnels money directly to Trump, raising ethical concerns and potential conflicts of interest.

Cuban’s proposal, while unconventional, aligns with his long-standing advocacy for blockchain technology. He has championed its potential for applications like smart contracts rather than speculative token trading. However, it remains unclear whether Cuban is serious about minting his own token. In response to one X user’s skepticism, he replied, “Of course I won’t.”

Despite the uncertainty, Cuban’s idea has sparked a broader conversation about the role of cryptocurrency in addressing national challenges. “Everyone benefits from lower debt,” he told one commenter. “If it’s a grift, make it a grift to benefit all Americans.”