Ethereum had become the darling of cryptocurrencies with a meteoric rise. The general appeal and constant growth in value left the graphics card market dry, and several companies even went so far as to launch dedicated models to cover the demand. However, Ethereum suffered one of its most significant crashes over the weekend, and the news of the CoinDash hack that led to the theft of $7.4 million in Ether reminded enthusiasts that cryptocurrencies are a very high-risk bet…
If there is one word encoded in the DNA of cryptocurrencies, it is "volatility". One of its main goals is supposedly to break the tyranny of banks, financial institutions, and local economic policies… but anyone interested in acquiring cryptocurrencies needs to know they are walking into a storm. Numbers can shoot up, or be cut down by anti-aircraft fire. The concept of "pump and dump" is hundreds of years old, but it fits perfectly with options like Bitcoin (which floats near $2,200), and now Ethereum.
The star of recent months fell 22 percent last Sunday to hit $130, a barrier it had crossed in late May. The most recent charts indicate it has already recovered a good part of its value $193 at the time of writing, but it is still far from the historic $414 reached in mid-June. Everything points to this aggressiveness in changes combined with a jump in difficulty that increased mining complexity by 20 percent forced a hardware swap for many enthusiasts, and the definitive exit of others. eBay has been flooded with used graphics cards, mainly Radeon RX 470. Some prices are truly ridiculous (the initial price of the RX 470 was $179), but they will have to adjust downward sooner or later.
To top it off, the CoinDash team was hacked during its ICO (a cryptocurrency equivalent of an IPO). The attackers managed to compromise the official CoinDash page and redirect transfers to their own Ethereum address. The total stolen was 43,438.45 Ether, which at that moment was worth $7.4 million. CoinDash said that those affected by the attack will receive their tokens anyway, but users are not happy and accuse the company of an "inside job". In summary, if you want to mine or buy cryptocurrencies, today more than ever, caveat emptor.
