Hackers Use Ethereum Smart Contracts to Hide Malware in Open-Source Repositories
Overview
Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a new method of distributing malware that leverages Ethereum smart contracts, marking...
The saying ‘buy while there’s blood on the streets’ might be a useful adage, but 2018 has – thus far -brought with it its fair share of spills.
Throughout the year, shattered scams, regulatory pressure, and waning investor confidence has seen several once-powerful cryptocurrencies crumble into the ash heap of history.
While we’ve recently unpacked what investors could have made by investing in 2018’s biggest gainers, what might the damage have been for those who invested in this year’s biggest losers?
In this article, we’ll be considering cryptocurrencies ranged within a starting market capitalization of $500,000,000 USD, and an ending market capitalization of $1,000,000 USD.
BitConnect
“BITCONNEEEECT!”
Perhaps one of – if not the most – controversial cryptocurrencies, Bitconnect is (or was) an open-source, peer-to-peer digital currency marketed as a ‘high-yield investment program’.
Formerly one of the twenty foremost cryptocurrencies, Bitconnect shut down earlier this year after receiving cease-and-desist orders from financial regulators in the US states of Texas and North Carolina.
And oh, how the mighty fell.
Bitconnect began trading at $385 USD at the start of the year, and plunged to just $0.55 at press time.
If you had invested $1,000 USD in Bitconnect on January 1st of 2018, you’d have made a loss of -$999 USD, with a -100% return on investment.
SALT
SALT is a platform designed to provide a blockchain-backed loan. Officially, the Secured Automated Lending Platform enables investors to place their cryptocurrencies as collateral for cash loans.
SALT reportedly encountered a “$1.3 billion USD” backlog in user requests earlier this year, and ultimately was forced to suspend “new membership registrations, loan requests, and purchases of SALT.”
SALT began trading at $12.41 USD on January 1st, and has since collapsed to just $1.25 USD.
If you had invested $1,000 USD in SALT on January 1st of 2018, you’d have made a loss of -$899 USD, with a -90% return on investment.
Ardor
Ardor is a blockchain-as-a-service provider developed by the creators of Nxt.
Ardor ultimately fell off the map earlier this year in a price plunge that saw the cryptocurrency fall from a high of $2.03 USD to $0.33 USD in the space of a month.
Ardor began trading at $1.61 USD on the 1st of January, and at press time trades at $0.17 USD.
If you had invested $1,000 USD in Ardor on January 1st of 2018, you’d have made a loss of -$893 USD, with a -89% return on investment.
Bitcoin Gold
Perhaps one of the more recognizable Bitcoin forks that emerged in the wake of Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin Gold debuted with the intent of introducing ASIC resistance and increasing Bitcoin’s base supply.
Unfortunately, Bitcoin Gold failed to entice Bitcoin holders, and ultimately faces waning interest.
Bitcoin Gold began trading at $272 USD on the 1st of January, and at press time trades at $31 USD.
If you had invested $1,000 USD in Bitcoin Gold on January 1st of 2018, you’d have made a loss of -$884 USD, with a -88% return on investment.
Qtum
Qtum is an open-sourced platform which focuses on mobile decentralized apps. Obstensibly designed as a ‘hybrid’ of Bitcoin and Ethereum, Qtum is intended to function as a value transfer protocol that can also support smart contracts.
Qtum spiked to touch values as high as $98 USD earlier this year, but the cryptocurrency hasn’t been able to recapture its past glory.
Qtum began trading at $60 USD on the 1st of January, and at press time trades at $10 USD.
If you had invested $1,000 USD in Qtum on January 1st of 2018, you’d have made a loss of -$833 USD, with a -83% return on investment.