Forbes, a respected business news site known for its insightful analysis of financial markets, has marked several top cryptocurrencies, including XRP and Cardano’s ADA, as “zombie blockchains.” The term refers to blockchain projects that boast high market valuations despite having little real-world utility or user adoption.
Top-Tier Cryptocurrencies Come Under Forbes’ Fire
Among the various crypto assets being criticized heavily by Forbes is XRP — the cryptocurrency of the Ripple ecosystem. Initially designed to compete with the SWIFT international banking system, XRP has effectively failed to fulfill its ambitious aspirations.
Despite its market value of around $36 billion, Forbes argues that XRP is “largely useless” as it has no purpose other than market speculation. XRP was valued at $0.5159 at publication time, and its price had slipped by 1.1% over the last seven days.
“Not only is SWIFT still going strong, but there are now better ways to send payments internationally via blockchains, especially stablecoins like tether, which is pegged to the U.S. dollar and has $100 billion in circulation,” Forbes analysts added.
Hard forks in the market such as Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Bitcoin SV (BSV), and Ethereum Classic (ETC) have high market values of over $1 billion despite primarily being used as speculative investments rather than for practical applications.
According to Forbes, these crypto spawns often emerge from disagreements within developer communities and continue surviving due to their historical importance or speculative trading.
Challenges Faced By ‘Ethereum Killers’
The Forbes report further casts a critical eye on the so-called “Ethereum killers” like Tezos (XTZ), Algorand (ALGO), and Cardano (ADA).
Despite significant technological advancements and high valuations, these tokens have yet to witness widespread adoption or user activity. Speculative interest in Cardano, case in point, reportedly stems from the popularity of its founder, Charles Hoskinson, instead of real-world utility. In terms of price, ADA isn’t doing too well. The token remains a whopping 84.8% below its all-time high of $3.09 set in September 2021.
Forbes also highlighted the absence of robust governance structures and financial accountability mechanisms within these blockchain entities, which operate without regulatory oversight or obligations to shareholders. This makes it difficult to evaluate their financial health, as exemplified by Ethereum Classic’s continued trading activity despite being a victim of major security breaches.
