A new altcoin calling itself “the new ERC20 Bitcoin,” eBTC, has increased in value 335 percent since it launched Monday.
The curious concept, which is attempting to become “a tokenized version of Bitcoin on the Ethereum Blockchain,” completed an airdrop to Ethereum (ETH) holders prior to its debut Oct. 1.
“There is currently no widely accepted tokenized version of Bitcoin on Ethereum, which is pretty surprising,” developers explain on eBTC’s website.
“[...] As eBTC grows, it will display Ethereum's capabilities and strengthen it's (sic) stance among crypto-currencies.”
According to data from Coinmarketcap, eBTC launched with a value of around $0.03 per token, but as of press time had increased to $0.20 as exchange EtherDelta became involved in trading it.
The uptick is reminiscent of an increasing number of altcoin assets which have ridden a wave of speculative interest to balloon in price without direct links to an ICO event.
Nonetheless, both volatility and overall reputability of such assets has been conspicuous. eBTC still lacks even a whitepaper, and its technical applications remain vague.
“I believe that eBTC, with adoption, could be a real asset for Ethereum,” the developer description adds.
“It will not only boost Ethereum’s recognition in the cryptocurrency community but also in the eyes of the public, while also providing a way to utilize Ethereum’s vast capabilities with a token which is representative of Bitcoin.”
Investor enthusiasm for ERC20 tokens has previously resulted in even openly satirical concepts raising genuine value, the main example being July’s Useless Ethereum Token (UET).