Crypto analyst Ben Armstrong, popularly known as ‘Bitboy Crypto’ has ignited controversy by declaring Cardano (ADA)and Polkadot (DOT), “dead to institutions.” His brash statement has drawn substantial backlash from the crypto community, with many members vehemently opposing his criticizing remarks.
Analyst Calls Cardano, Polkadot Dead
In an X (formerly Twitter) post on July 3, Armstrong declared that Cardano’s native token, ADA and Polkadot’s token, DOT were dead to institutions. The analyst implied that major institutional investors no longer consider ADA and DOT as viable or attractive crypto investment options.
This criticism could be attributed to both Cardano and Polkadot’s underperformance in the crypto market lately. Reports from CoinMarketCap have revealed that Cardano crashed by a whopping 23.6% over the past month, experiencing major declines in its price as market conditions turned bearish.
As of writing, the cryptocurrency’s trading volume is down by 44.99%, underscoring investors’ waning demand for Cardano. Moreover, ADA is still trading below the $1 price mark at approximately $0.35.
On the other hand, DOT is trading at $5.85, reflecting a 5.09% weekly decline. The cryptocurrency also plummeted significantly over the past month by 18.73%.
While criticizing Cardano and Polkadot’s prominence in the crypto market, Armstrong also noted that the cryptocurrencies’ lack of institutional interest does not mean they will not experience occasional price pumps and provide investors with significant returns during bull runs.
However, he suggested that this price increase would be relatively small, as opposed to other digital assets with stronger institutional backing.
In an earlier post, Armstrong disclosed that the Polkadot team had reached out to him for a sponsorship. However, he couldn’t promote the cryptocurrency with a “good conscience” knowing it was a “dying chain.”
Crypto Community Fires Back
Armstrong’s remarks about ADA and DOT being dead to institutions have received significant criticism and ire from both the Polkadot and Cardano communities. A Cardano development and DEX enthusiast identified as ‘Dave’ on X rebuffed Armstrong’s statements, implying that they lacked merit and did not present any technical facts.
To counteract the analyst’s criticism of ADA, Dave highlighted ADA’s strengths, disclosing that the blockchain has had 6.9 years of uninterrupted operation, employs a self-governance chain, and has a real community with self-sovereignty. Additionally, he emphasized that Cardano was an energy-efficient and self-sustainable blockchain with a reliable cryptocurrency, ADA.
Another community member has also defended Cardano and Polkadot, emphasizing that both cryptocurrencies rank highly in terms of community engagement, similar to Bitcoin (BTC).
Additionally, a prominent Cardano whale with over 150,000 followers responded to Armstrong’s controversial remarks, highlighting that he found it amusing that the crypto analyst would label the only two coins with robust governance mechanisms as “dead.”
The whale disclosed that the success of Cardano and Polkadot was not just based on the community’s faith in the cryptocurrencies but on the fact these altcoins were designed to outlast other cryptocurrencies in the space.
Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com
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