5 ms·

What makes a shitcoin to be a shitcoin?

by melenaboija 4y ago

cguess 4y ago
If it's a cryptocurrency. (no, I'm not being facetious)
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
snapcaster 4y ago
Anything but bitcoin. willing to argue about ethereum but the rest are either forks of bitcoin or trash
TakeBlaster16 4y ago
Telltale signs of a shitcoin: - premined (the creator reserves coins for themselves or for "development purposes" before releasing to the public) - the coin is named after a dog - centralized governance (one person/group/company controls development or makes frequent hard forks) - been around less than 5-10 years (these aren't necessarily scams, but at best you're gambling on something unproven) - small market cap (again, not necessarily a scam, but a big red flag. let other people be the ones to dig through the trash and hunt unicorns) Take out the trash and you're left with between 1 and 5 projects, depending on how you feel about the details.
- tromp 4y ago
  > small market cap (again, not necessarily a scam, but a big red flag. That's not a red flag if the emission is very slow, e.g. a pure linear emission that takes a century to reach the soft total [1]. [1] https://john-tromp.medium.com/a-case-for-using-soft-total-supply-1169a188d153 https://john-tromp.medium.com/a-case-for-using-soft-total-su...
  - ahtihn 4y ago
    I don't understand how emission rate is related to market cap?
    - tromp 4y ago
      If two coins A and B are the same in every respect except that A emits its capped supply of N coins evenly over 10 years, while B emits its identical capped supply of N coins evenly over 20 years, then B's emission rate is half that of A (twice as slow). After 10 years, when A's emission finishes, A's marketcap will be much higher than that of B, maybe twice as much, since B has only emitted N/2 coins, and A's price should roughly at least that of B. In other words, a coin's price is determined more by its total supply than by its current supply, to reflect future dilution.
- smoldesu 4y ago
  It's funny, people like to exacerbate the difference between cryptocurrency and shitcoins, but both of them are leagues away from the security of government tender. Even in the middle of a global recession, government cheese held it's value better than Ethereum or Bitcoin ever did. Principle-driven projects are getting sanctioned across the globe, everyone who wanted to 'rethink global finance' can go home now. Sure, a few other cryptocurrencies have been given special treatment based on their legacy, but it's only a matter of time before the shitcoin curse permeates them, too. L2 chains and non-custodial wallets have pushed that particular doomsday clock 2 ticks closer to midnight. I'm not convinced there's 1-5 projects left after you "take out the trash". There's nothing. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Monero... all of these legacy projects have no use besides P2P transactions. It's cool, and can scale well, but that's not going to drive prices in the long-term. Crypto's hands are tied, and it can do nothing except trade sideways until it dies forever, like SoulSeek or LimeWire. Betting on Bitcoin going back up is like betting on Tastetations showing up again at your local CVS; abysmal odds, all hours of the day.
tromp 4y ago
One type is a copy-paste of an existing coin with a few parameter tweaks or mostly meaningless change (like the PoW algorithm). Another type is a cash grab where scammers write a buzz-word filled whitepaper with grandioseor bogus claims to raise money in an ICO and then only deliver some half-baked product or simply run off with the money.

What makes a shitcoin to be a shitcoin?

cguess 4y ago

If it's a cryptocurrency. (no, I'm not being facetious)

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

snapcaster 4y ago

Anything but bitcoin. willing to argue about ethereum but the rest are either forks of bitcoin or trash

TakeBlaster16 4y ago

Telltale signs of a shitcoin: - premined (the creator reserves coins for themselves or for "development purposes" before releasing to the public) - the coin is named after a dog - centralized governance (one person/group/company controls development or makes frequent hard forks) - been around less than 5-10 years (these aren't necessarily scams, but at best you're gambling on something unproven) - small market cap (again, not necessarily a scam, but a big red flag. let other people be the ones to dig through the trash and hunt unicorns) Take out the trash and you're left with between 1 and 5 projects, depending on how you feel about the details.

tromp 4y ago
> small market cap (again, not necessarily a scam, but a big red flag. That's not a red flag if the emission is very slow, e.g. a pure linear emission that takes a century to reach the soft total [1]. [1] https://john-tromp.medium.com/a-case-for-using-soft-total-supply-1169a188d153 https://john-tromp.medium.com/a-case-for-using-soft-total-su...
- ahtihn 4y ago
  I don't understand how emission rate is related to market cap?
  - tromp 4y ago
    If two coins A and B are the same in every respect except that A emits its capped supply of N coins evenly over 10 years, while B emits its identical capped supply of N coins evenly over 20 years, then B's emission rate is half that of A (twice as slow). After 10 years, when A's emission finishes, A's marketcap will be much higher than that of B, maybe twice as much, since B has only emitted N/2 coins, and A's price should roughly at least that of B. In other words, a coin's price is determined more by its total supply than by its current supply, to reflect future dilution.
smoldesu 4y ago
It's funny, people like to exacerbate the difference between cryptocurrency and shitcoins, but both of them are leagues away from the security of government tender. Even in the middle of a global recession, government cheese held it's value better than Ethereum or Bitcoin ever did. Principle-driven projects are getting sanctioned across the globe, everyone who wanted to 'rethink global finance' can go home now. Sure, a few other cryptocurrencies have been given special treatment based on their legacy, but it's only a matter of time before the shitcoin curse permeates them, too. L2 chains and non-custodial wallets have pushed that particular doomsday clock 2 ticks closer to midnight. I'm not convinced there's 1-5 projects left after you "take out the trash". There's nothing. Bitcoin, Ethereum, Monero... all of these legacy projects have no use besides P2P transactions. It's cool, and can scale well, but that's not going to drive prices in the long-term. Crypto's hands are tied, and it can do nothing except trade sideways until it dies forever, like SoulSeek or LimeWire. Betting on Bitcoin going back up is like betting on Tastetations showing up again at your local CVS; abysmal odds, all hours of the day.

tromp 4y ago

One type is a copy-paste of an existing coin with a few parameter tweaks or mostly meaningless change (like the PoW algorithm). Another type is a cash grab where scammers write a buzz-word filled whitepaper with grandioseor bogus claims to raise money in an ICO and then only deliver some half-baked product or simply run off with the money.