How I fell for the blockchain gold rush

Bitcoin_envy,the_ultramodern_malaise.News_reports_are_full_of_this_magic_internet_money’s_rocketing_value–currently$16,000–and_Facebook_is_dotted_with_people_who_picked_some_up_at$500,_$50_or_even_50_cents._But_the_cryptocurrency_ship_hasn’t_yet_sailed._In_the_volatile_market_of_alternative_cryptos,_relatively_unknown_alt-coins_such_as_ripple,_litecoin_and_ethereum_regularly_shoot_up_by_hundreds_of_per_cent_in_a_matter_of_weeks,_and_plummet_just_as_fast._Bitcoin_envy_has_brought_in_vast_sums_of_new_money,_dollar-eyed_investors_taking_a_Las_Vegas_gamble_on_which_of_the_more_than_1,000_alt-coins_might_rocket_next.In_September_the_cryptocurrency_market_cap_was$137bn.Today_it’s$800bn._It’s_a_blockchain_gold_rush.

In_mid-December_a_Facebook_friend_well-versed_in_crypto_tipped_Cardano’s_ADA,_which_at_21_cents_was_just_the_tip_I_was_after._Little_did_I_know_I_was_riding_unarmed_into_a_lawless_digital_wild_west,_where_fortunes_are_made_and_lost_on_a_tweet_and_every_shill,_trickster,_bot_and_conman_is_using_all_the_unregulated_tricks_in_the_book_to_make_a_fast_buck._And_this_was_undoubtedly_my_first_rodeo.

For_a_form_of_currency_designed_to_wrestle_financial_control_away_from_centralised_banks_and_governments_and_back_into_the_hands_of_the_people,_there_is_a_surprising_amount_of_red_tape_involved_with_buying_cryptocurrency_online.It_took_me_two_days_to_pass_security_checks_on_depository_Coinbase_and_crypto_exchange_Binance_and_scour_Reddit_to_find_out_how_a_digital“wallet”_worked._One_night_my_wife_woke_me_at_5am:_ADA_was_51_cents_and_rising_fast._I_scrambled_for_the_laptop_and_bought_all_the_ADA_I_could.

Rookie_mistake:the_Fomo–“fear_of_missing_out”–_buy.The_pump_quickly_turned_to_dump–a_regular_cycle_in_cryptocurrency–_and_ADA_drifted_painfully_downwards.With_my_very_first_trade_I_was_that_most_maligned_of_crypto_trader_noob–_the_top-buyer.

Let_loose_in_this_cyber-cash_chocolate_factory,_I_browsed_further.Avoid_the_vast_number_of_scam“shitcoins”_floating_around_and_the_potential_is_clearly_enormous.If_bitcoin_is_the_Atari_of_internet_money–_a_slow,first-generation_technology_with_heavy_fees–_then_the_faster_and_cheaper_ethereum_and_litecoin_are_its_ZX_Spectrums,_and_the_crypto_community_is_jostling_to_discover_the_third-gen_PlayStation,_with_each_new_alt-coin_designed_for_an_innovative_purpose._Due_diligence_is_key:_you’re_looking_for_a_respectable_team_with_an_innovative_project_that_could_eventually_reach_mass_adoption,_a_strong_support_community_and_a_bargain_price_for_a_coin_with_a_small_circulating_supply.

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John_McAfee,head_of_McAfee_Antivirus_and_a_major_voice_in_crypto,tweeted,“it_is_easier_for_a_3_cent_coin_to_go_to_3_dollars,than_it_is_for_a$300_dollar_coin_to_go_to$30,000”,_so_I_looked_to_the_cheaper_coins_for_my_future_fortune.Most_intriguing_was_a_five-center_called_verge(or_XVG),_tipped_by_McAfee_as_the_next_big_privacy_coin._Several_years_in_development,_verge_was_created_by_a_team_of_volunteers_led_by_head_developer_Justin_Vendetta_and_were_promising_the_imminent_release_of_Wraith_Protocol,_a_means_by_which_users_can_make_a_transaction_with_verge_either_public_or_untraceable_at_the_flick_of_a_switch._You_could_pay_your_gas_bill_and_run_a_Mexican_drug_cartel_with_the_same_currency.

Verge_was_already_a_phenomenon._On_the_back_of_a_single_tweet_from_McAfee,_the_price_had_shot_up_2,000%_in_a_couple_of_days,and_almost_30,000%in_2017;$400_of_verge_purchased_in_January_would_now_be_worth$17m.With_McAfee_claiming_Verge_could_hit$15_in_a_year,_it_sure_looked_like_the_future._I_grabbed_me_a_hefty_chunk.

I_wasn’t_alone._All_of_crypto’s_shadowed_eyes_were_on_verge.Its_bullish_community_of_supporters_filled_Twitter_with_entreaties_to_HODL–hold_on_for_dear_life–until_it_goes“to_the_moon”and_everyone_can_buy“lambos”._Within_a_couple_of_days,_as_the_hype_about_Wraith_Protocol’s_spread_and_firm_promises_were_made_that_it_would_be_released_before_2018_was_rung_in,_the_price_tripled.On_the_day_bitcoin_crashed_to$10,000,_taking_most_of_the_market_with_it,_verge_soared,_hitting_almost_30_cents._Graph_readers_were_suggesting_the_release_of_Wraith_would_shoot_the_value_to_70_cents_or_more.

I_found_myself_obsessed,_constantly_monitoring_Twitter,_waking_in_the_night_to_check_coin_tracking_apps._Pundits_were_hailing_verge_as_a_game-changer,_the_next_bitcoin.Unbelievers_pointed_to_previous_missed_deadlines_and_called_it“vaporware”,_a_nonexistent_con,_the_biggest_scam_in_crypto_history._In_this_unprecedented_hype,_there_was_clearly_unprecedented_money_to_be_made.

And_more_than_one_way_to_make_it._Three_things_hold_sway_over_these_unregulated_crypto_markets:_coin_innovations,_bitcoin_whales_manipulating_prices_with_huge_pump_and_dumps,_and_social_media.The_merest_hint_of_FUD(fear,_uncertainty_and_doubt)_on_a_coin’s_Twitter_or_Reddit_threads_can_tank_its_price_quickly,_and_as_the_final_days_of_2017_slipped_by_with_Wraith_Protocol_still_unreleased,_the_FUDers_went_to_town_on_verge.

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A_crypto_tipster_named_Marquis_Trill_tweeted_his_4.6_million_followers_on_Christmas_Day_to_“sell_XVG!”,_claiming_he_had_proof_from_a_Reddit_whistleblower_that_the_Wraith_Protocol_project_was_falling_apart._The_price_plummeted,_only_to_recover_again_when_Trill_claimed_his_Twitter_had_been_hacked_and_the_allegation_proved_false._In_the_dip,_a_new_verge_wallet_was_opened_and_2bn_coins_were_purchased,_14%_of_the_supply._Someone,_somewhere,_on_the_back_of_just_two_tweets,_had_made_millions_in_minutes._If_that_wallet_suddenly_emptied_when_verge_went_to_the_moon_on_the_release_of_Wraith,_one_commenter_suggested,it_would_be“the_heist_of_the_century”.

Then,_on_27_December,McAfee_posted_a_tweet_claiming_his_prediction_of_a_future$15_price_for_verge_had_come_from_a_fake_account,_and_that_he’d_only_ever_claimed_it_would_reach_15_cents._Verge’s_price_dropped_to_that_amount.

In_retaliation,_on_30_December,_the_coin’s_highest-profile_Twitter_supporter_XVG_Whale_posted_a_series_of_texts_claiming_to_be_from_McAfee,demanding_the_team_give_him_more_than$1m_in_ethereum_or_he’d_tweet_the_coin_into_the_ground._New_Twitter_accounts_were_opened,_tweeting_FUD_about_verge_170_times_a_day_to_drive_the_price_down;_in_the_dips,_that_monster_wallet_grew_by_2m_coins_every_half_hour._Dark_forces_were_at_work,_and_all_us_minnows_could_do_as_the_days_ticked_by_was_strap_ourselves_in_to_the_Wraith_Protocol_rocket_and_hope_that,_come_midnight_on_New_Year’s_Eve,_its_release_would_shoot_us_moonwards._For_verge,_and_my_fledgling_portfolio,_this_was_death_or_glory.

At_5am_on_New_Year’s_Day,I_and_thousands_of#Vergefam_sat_hunched_over_verge’s_Twitter_feed_as_eagerly_as_Beyoncé_fans_awaiting_a_surprise_album_drop,_counting_down_the_ball_in_Times_Square._Five,_four,_three,_two,one…_nothing._Like_thousands_of_others,_I_hit_the_sell_button;_the_price_dropped_3_cents_in_as_many_seconds._Then_a_tweet_from_Vendetta_citing_a_last-minute_bug_steadied_the_price_and_I_bought_straight_back_in,_but_the_short-term_profit_seekers_had_hopped_off_and,_when_Wraith_Protocol_arrived_four_hours_late,_a_site_quickly_popped_up_claiming_to_have_hacked_the_first_batch_of_IP_addresses_from_it._By_the_time_this_was_proved_to_be_fake_news_the_Verge_price_had_dwindled_to_13_cents,_and_the_momentum_of_cryptocurrency’s_biggest_moment_was_lost.

Then_a_minor_miracle._Once_the_FUD_cleared_and_Wraith_was_shown_to_work_exactly_as_promised,_Verge’s_price_rallied_to_about_20_cents,with_tipsters_predicting_it_to_hit$1_in_the_coming_months._They_might_be_a_small_band_of_developers_with_poor_PR_being_buffeted_by_the_malevolent_winds_of_crypto,_but_verge_is_the_game-changer,_not_the_scam._So,_yes,_the_bitcoin_bubble_might_soon_burst,_bringing_this_whole,_wild_rollercoaster_ride_off_the_rails,_but_I’ll_be_HODLing_my_verge_for_a_year_or_two._Meanwhile,ADA_quietly_hit$1.20._Perhaps_I’ll_be_opening_that_lambo_dealership_on_the_moon_yet.

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