In Friday’s installment of The Daily, we round up the latest debate over whether market cap should be used to rank cryptocurrencies. Members of the Ripple community are up in arms over new data that suggests their token’s market cap should be billions of dollars lower than currently stated. We also detail the latest update to the Binance-owned Trust Wallet, and take in a dash of drama from crypto Twitter.
Market Cap Metric’s Shortcomings Exposed
The ranking of cryptocurrencies by market capitalization (i.e number of coins in circulation multiplied by price per coin) is a metric that has long been criticized for its inaccuracy. Theoretically, any altcoin can game the system by issuing billions of tokens or by selling a single token for a ridiculously high price on an exchange to make the network appear more valuable than it really is. The shortcomings of market capitalization were hit home on Jan. 24 in research published by Messari which found that the market cap of ripple (XRP) could have been overstated by as much as 46 percent or $6.1 billion. Should ripple’s market cap be updated to reflect the new data, the token would be relegated to third place in the cryptocurrency rankings, behind ethereum.
Ripple Is ‘the Theranos of Crypto’
Holders of ripple were unimpressed with the suggestion to reduce its cap, and the XRP army took to Twitter to voice their displeasure against Messari founder and longtime ripple critic Ryan Selkis. Selkis claimed to have been doxed and threatened by ripple acolytes, and hit back, describing the project as “the Theranos of crypto.” He also called upon Ripple leaders such as CEO Brad Garlinghouse to urge the project’s supporters to show restraint.
I’ve been in crypto for six years.
Taken shit for 0.
I’ve received threatening messages after Mt Gox and Ripple exposes.
And I am a man on fucking fire right now.
Ripple is the Theranos of crypto.@BenLawsky @genebsperling
— Ryan Selkis (@twobitidiot) January 25, 2019
Crypto Twitter Influencers Shaken Out
Staying with crypto Twitter (CT), and influencers who shill dubious projects are finding themselves under the spotlight. It’s common practice for popular figures within the cryptosphere to lever their following to promote ICOs and share referral links to platforms such as Bitmex. For followers of these accounts, however, it isn’t always clear what’s being shared as impartial trading advice and what’s a paid promotion. Viacoin developer, trader, and unrepentant troll Romano has taken it upon himself to mercilessly expose the worst elements of CT, waging a one-man campaign against shills.
More disses will be propagated over twitter.
Fuckin influencer paid shills. Using and manipulating their folllowers.
Say no more to these goddamn using influencers. We should start a movement.
I’m coming for them. 20k followers fack that. 100k followers, still not scared.
— [ Romano ] (@RNR_0) January 14, 2019
“This year we will take Crypto Twitter back from these influencers (normies in crypto clothes) who shill every scam for $250,” he tweeted, and has been as good as his word. This week, he focused his rage on the appropriately named “Crypto Shill Nye,” exposing previous business dealings and CT behavior that Romano deemed unethical. His takedown of Nye inspired other Twitter traders to pile in and share other skeletons from Nye’s closet. Crypto Shill Nye, for his part, hit back, claiming that “I have never scammed anyone and I never will,” adding “I am not asking for any money from my followers.”
Trust Wallet Announces Major Upgrade
Trust Wallet, which was purchased last year by Binance, has unleashed a slew of updates lately including new features and coin additions. The mobile wallet, which recently added support for bitcoin cash (BCH) is now to be complemented by a desktop counterpart. Trust 2.0 will comprise a new desktop wallet as well as integrated support for Binance coin (BNB) to facilitate trading on the forthcoming Binance DEX.
Trust Wallet users will be able to trade on the decentralized exchange while retaining full custody of their funds. The wallet developer will also be launching a hardware wallet, explaining that “with the rise of Bluetooth, NFC and QR capable hardware wallets, we think now it’s the time to finally bring you this feature.” Trust Wallet, which launched as an ETH-only wallet a year ago, now supports a string of cryptocurrencies including BTC, BCH, LTC and ERC20 tokens.
What are your thoughts on the stories in today’s news roundup? Let us know in the comments section below.
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