- Forbes has identified over 20 “billion-dollar crypto zombies,” including Ripple, BSV, and Litecoin
- These blockchains see very little usage but still have high valuations due mainly to price speculation
- Many have been affected by the failure of the blockchain revolution to materialize
Forbes has identified over 20 “billion-dollar crypto zombies,” crypto projects that are valued at over a billion dollars but have little actual usage. The list includes well-known blockchains such as Ripple, BSV, and Litecoin, as well as those that have faltered along with the NFT collapse. Forbes uses these ‘zombies’ as examples of the lack of followthrough following the 2017 blockchain boom and suggests that there is nothing but consumer sentiment keeping the valuations up. However, with billions backing them there is little chance of them meeting their maker in the near future.
Low Usage and Low Network Fees
Forbes says that zombie blockchains, categorized into spin-offs of Bitcoin and Ethereum or direct competitors, collectively trade at a whopping $23 billion valuation and typically arise from coder disputes, resulting in “hard forks,” splitting the original chain’s history and token distribution. The most obvious examples include Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin SV, both of which make the list due to their lack of development, usage, and network fees.
Forbes research published a list of 20 crypto billion-dollar zombies.
These are L1s with high valuation but “are unproven and have little utility other than for speculative crypto trading.”
Notable mentions: $STX, $ICP, $FTM, $ADA, $EOS… pic.twitter.com/XDKOkrshfc
— Ignas | DeFi Research (@DefiIgnas) April 25, 2024
Also on the list is Litecoin, one of the few dinosaurs that still remain clinging onto their place in the cryptosphere, as well as Manchester United sponsors, Tezos, whose proof-of-stake model fails to match Ethereum’s transaction volume. Similarly, Algorand, once hailed as an “Ethereum killer,” lags due to limited community and leadership issues, despite its impressive market cap and treasury funds.
Cardano, led by Charles Hoskinson following its $4 billion ICO raise in 2018, is on the list due to its incomplete development stages, while Ripple and its XRP token are, somewhat surprisingly to some, also on the list; Forbes says that Ripple’s “XRP tokens continue to trade actively, some $2 billion worth per day, but to no purpose other than speculation” given that its blockchain has utterly failed in its primary goal to unseat the payment giant SWIFT.
Speculation Keeps the Zombies Alive
Forbes offers the following explanation as to why these coins still exist, despite their lack of usage:
in the bizarro world of digital assets, rich zombie blockchains need not worry about the kinds of things that keep traditional companies on their toes. There are no shareholders or regulators asking for financial statements, and short selling tokens is relatively difficult. So long as there is an ample supply of speculators willing to trade the tokens, flush zombie blockchains will continue to roam the digital landscape.
It summarizes by warning critics that they shouldn’t expect these “cash-rich, do-nothing blockchains” to shut down anytime soon; if there is money to be made somewhere down the line, they will continue to exist.
