Grin had “most expensive genesis block one in history”
Grin mining saw massive investment from the very start, but that's not entirely good news for prices.
A lot of people have been keenly watching the launch of the Grin privacy cryptocurrency for several reasons.
Firstly, because as a MimbleWimble implementation it's something of a crypto curiosity. Secondly, because its cypherpunk vibe reminds a lot of people of bitcoin's early days, and thirdly, because there has been an enormous amount of investment in Grin mining infrastructure prior to its launch.
Primitive Ventures conservatively estimates that about $100 million has been put towards Grin mining infrastructure prior to launch, making Grin the proud owner of "maybe the most expensive genesis block one in history" as Primitive Venture's Dovey Wan said to CoinDesk.
Upside-downsides
At an intuitive glance this seems like it might be nothing but good news, but according to Primitive Ventures it comes with some price downsides too.
Specifically, it means a lot of the people who would have otherwise been early buyers of Grin will instead be sellers, as their mining investments start bearing fruit to be sold. This stands to chip away at prices from both the seller and buyer sides.
The extra mining competition isn't necessarily great for profitability either, and earlier investors may find themselves needing to reevaluate their expectations.
The upside though, is that the network will launch with a high degree of security. Despite its bitcoin-like ethos, Primitive Ventures notes that the ascent of cryptocurrency to the mainstream means those days are probably gone for good.
"What Bitcoin pulled off, an organic launch without any professional investment early on, is unlikely to ever be possible again," it suggests.
On the markets, Grin is still thin on the ground and swinging wildly. The Grin Galleon exchange is showing big spreads and little commitment.
According to Coinlib Grin got about US$350,000 in volume over the last 24 hours, and its prices have wavered as hard as one would expect an enigmatic and still quite rare digital asset to waver, changing hands at prices between about $20 equivalent and about $5 equivalent.
Round and round it's still going. Where it will stop, nobody's knowing.
Disclosure: At the time of writing the author holds ETH
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