Bitcoin’s (BTC) smallest denomination is now worth more than an entire unit of altcoin Hex (HEX) after the controversial token lost over 50% in a day.
Data from Coinmarketcap and other sources confirm that HEX/BTC is now below 1 satoshi — or 0.00000001 BTC.
HEX price too small to measure
Put in different terms, the price of a single HEX token has become so small that many price calculators cannot measure its value. On Jan. 5, Hex traded at 7.745e-9 BTC according to Coinmarketcap, the equivalent of 0.000000007745 BTC.
That number, of course, is far below a single U.S. dollar cent, and roughly translates as $0.000058. Data from Bidesk, an exchange offering the HEX/BTC pair, confirmed the price levels.
HEX/BTC orderbook from Bidesk exchange. Source: Bidesk
Hex’s demise over its short lifetime has been precipitous. Those who bought tokens or claimed them using existing Bitcoin holdings since its Dec. 2 launch have seen their value dive by practically 100%.
Throughout, Richard Heart, the coin’s vocal creator, has continued to promise vast returns for those who hold HEX for certain periods via a staking scheme.
Speaking to Cointelegraph in an interview last month, Heart was unrelenting in his promotion of what he claims is a “truly unique system” in the cryptocurrency world.
Investors would rather buy satoshis
Criticism has nonetheless come from multiple sources, with a popular theory naturally centering around Hex being run similar to a pyramid scheme. A study released shortly after the launch highlighted what its author described as the “perpetual self-enrichment” of Heart at the expense of other investors.
A further gaffe saw HEX/BTC plunge 60% overnight after cryptocurrency exchange Bitcoin.com chose to list it.
The drop below 1 satoshi meanwhile fielded a fresh wave of satisfaction from social media users, many of whom had long warned that investing in Hex was a decision which amounted to little more than plain foolishness.
Domingo Guerra, co-founder of enterprise mobile security company Appthority, noted that on Saturday, there were no buyers for HEX at 1 satoshi, “It’s dead! Essentially at zero,” he summarized.