Forbes recently stirred controversy with a report unveiling 20 “crypto billion-dollar zombies,” Layer 1 (L1) tokens deemed to have substantial valuations but “limited utility beyond speculative trading.” 🧟♂️
Among the highlighted cryptocurrencies and projects are Ripple, XRP, Ethereum Classic (ETC), Tezos (XTZ), Algorand (ALGO), and Cardano (ADA), among others. 📉
Ripple Labs, the entity behind XRP, was singled out as a prominent crypto zombie, with Forbes asserting that despite XRP’s daily trading volume of around $2 billion, the token’s primary purpose remains speculative, lacking meaningful utility. 💸
Ethereum Classic, touted as the original Ethereum chain, also fell under scrutiny, with its market value of $4.6 billion raising questions about its viability due to its meager fee generation. 🤔
Tezos, despite raising $230 million in its ICO, faces similar challenges, with its XTZ token holding a $1.2 billion market capitalization but earning minimal blockchain transaction fees. 📉
Algorand, once considered an “Ethereum killer” for its transaction processing capabilities, earned only $63,000 in blockchain transaction fees in 2023, despite its $2 billion market cap and $500 million treasury holding. 🪦
Forbes categorizes these zombie blockchains into spin-offs and direct competitors to established chains like Bitcoin and Ethereum, highlighting the growing disparity between their valuations and actual usage. 📊
Overall, the report underscores concerns about the overvaluation of certain projects in the cryptocurrency industry, dubbing them “zombies” due to their limited utility and usage despite their billion-dollar valuations. 🧟♂️
