Altcoins Igniting But Ethereum Founder Isn't Ready for Liftoff

The cryptocurrency market is currently exhibiting strong bullish signals, with a cumulative market cap of over $388 billion.

While a large portion of this growth is attributed to high market cap cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple, the top 50 altcoins are almost all experiencing 7-day average positive movement of 5%. Cryptocurrency traders may be enthused by the shift in market sentiment, but Vitalik Buterin has decried the recent surge in interest, stating that most altcoin valuations are "Far ahead of accomplishments."

In a lengthy interview with the Financial Times published earlier this week, the Ethereum creator struck out against a number of blockchain projects including Tron, which Buterin cited as an example of "Projects that never had a soul."

While Buterin has remained staunchly opposed to cryptocurrency speculators that maintain a position in the market solely with the intent to capitalize on the new asset class, the Ethereum founders' qualms regarding the Tron project are valid.

Promoted as a blockchain-based protocol designed specifically for the entertainment industry, Tron captured a significant amount of investor capital with no MVP. Justin Sun, Tron's founder, gained infamy within the cryptocurrency community for posting a continuous series of "Announcements of announcements," goading investors with promises of partnerships that took an inordinate amount of time to actualize.

Outside of high-profile blockchain projects, the level of speculation and manipulation that occurs within the cryptocurrency market is highly evident.

Viewing the weekly and even daily chart patterns of low market cap cryptocurrencies reveals concerning levels of manipulation, with evidence of "Pump and dump" groups rife.

Who recently captured the attention of the cryptocurrency community for publicly denouncing Bitcoin Cash proponent Craig Wright at the recent Deconomy conference, is widely known to hold enmity toward the Tron project.

Erin's evident hostility toward cryptocurrency speculators and his perceived overvaluation of the altcoin market appears to step from a frustration with the lack of focus on the underlying technology behind cryptocurrencies in favor of short-term profits.

Finally, CryptoSlate takes no responsibility should you lose money trading cryptocurrencies.