If I understand correctly (correct me if I'm wrong), creating meme tokens/coins is not illegal in any Western country, provided they are not utility tokens and are not marketed as investments or promising returns, etc.
As such, what's stopping anyone from doing this:
> create a meme coin on some cheap blockchain
> don't hype it up officially yourself, but just give it away for free on anonymous forums etc (i.e. to your friends, your own other accounts or even genuinely to some real strangers)
> try to create some hype with fake accounts or paid shills etc to create an impression that a market emerged on its own
> buy them from yourself with "dirty" crypto on decentralised exchange
> report your income and pay tax on it
> live happily ever after
Given how some random meme coins can explode within a few days and then die, you could potentially launder millions and still make it look legit.
Am I missing something here? It seems way too easy. If so, should we expect some further crackdown either on decentralised exchanges or a ban on issuing own tokens (which would be insane)? If the loop is legit, I can't imagine it won't be massively exploited (if it isn't already) and that regulators will tolerate it for long.
Thoughts?