XRP’s meticulous 80% rise in 7 days: Is Forbes’ ‘Zombie Token’ list the next inverse fund bet?

XRP is up and Forbes’ earlier report has stirred up the crypto community. The report labeled some top cryptocurrencies, including XRP, as “zombie tokens.” In a list of about 20 tokens, they said that the assets have little to no utility beyond speculative trading.

The recent surge in crypto prices, including XRP’s 80% rise in just one week has led to critics mocking Forbes and highlighting the resilience of these so-called “zombie” projects.

Forbes March article stirs up the crypto community

Back in March, Forbes published a report calling out a list of cryptocurrencies, including XRP, as “zombie tokens.” They dubbed cryptocurrencies that are active and traded without any meaningful purpose “zombies.” The media claimed that XRP and other tokens are just used for speculative trading. Forbes argued that while tokens like XRP trade billions of dollars daily, they lack real-world use cases or adoption.

Forbes also noted that traditional banking systems like SWIFT remain dominant, challenging the market space that Ripple has been trying to claim through cross-border payment solutions. However, the paper suggested that new blockchain-based systems are more efficient than what Ripple has to offer.

The report referred to at least 20 such “zombie” projects, collectively valued at $116 billion. Forbes said that since these are not traditional companies, the said “zombie” projects have no obligations to the shareholders or regulators.

However, in the last quarter where crypto prices have recorded a steep rise, the “zombie” tokens have recorded massive gains.  And naturally, the crypto community is now mocking Forbes for its article. The crypto community argues that even if these tokens were labeled as “zombies,” their rising market values suggest that investors still see them as valuable. The backlash is more to do with Forbes’ underestimation of their staying power and relevance.

In March this year, Forbes selected 20 "zombie tokens", with XRP at the top, referring to assets that have little use other than speculative trading. However, the recent surge in the market value of zombie tokens has also caused the community to mock Forbes.… pic.twitter.com/uhiwHpNJYF

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) December 4, 2024

Apart from Ripple’s XRP, Forbes identified 19 “good-for-nothing” “zombie tokens” which included major names like Cardano (ADA), Litecoin (LTC), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH).

Other tokens such as Ethereum Classic (ETC), Stellar (XLM), and Algorand (ALGO) were also labeled as zombies, alongside newer projects like Kaspa (KAS), Stacks (STX), and Internet Computer (ICP). Arweave (AR), MultiversX (EGLD), Mina (MINA), and Tezos (XTZ) were also included for their perceived dormancy.

Forbes market recommendations could start an inverse fund

Journalist Colin Wu curated a list of returns of these tokens. XLM leads with a 466.13% rise, followed by XRP at 414.54%, and ALGO at 406.19%. On a year-to-date (YTD) basis, XRP has surged by 317.54%, while XLM and ADA recorded impressive gains of 294.43% and 103.84%, respectively.

XRP recorded an impressive return of almost 80% in the past week as per calculations by CoinGecko. EGLD and MINA, show negative YTD performance despite recent short-term gain. But almost all of these projects are participating in the crypto bull run without losing relevance.

A user went ahead to compare Forbes to Jim Cramer, the host of CNBC’s Mad Money. Cramer has gained a reputation for being so inaccurate about the markets that there is an  Inverse Cramer Tracker ETF (SJIM). The fund takes a position contrary to his recommendations and has performed well so far.

Interestingly, Forbes included Kaspa on the zombie list. Users on X were quick to point out that the paper has been publishing its “how to buy” guides for these tokens.

Forbes seems to be balancing different points of view on its platform. But, its earlier criticism of 20 tokens hasn’t gone down well with the crypto community. While Forbes questioned their utility, the market presented the unwavering interest of investors. Whether driven by speculation or long-term potential, these tokens have shown that their relevance is far from over.

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