Litecoin Creator Likens NFT Craze to the 2017 ICO Boom

Charlie Lee, the creator of Litecoin, noted parallels between the growing popularity of the non-fungible token (NFT) market and the ICO boom of 2017 and the altcoin frenzy of 2013.

I see a lot of parallels between 2021’s NFTs with 2017’s ICOs and 2013’s altcoins:

— easy to create new ones with no barriers
— simple to understand & explain
— brings tons of new people into crypto
— high prices & pumps create hype/FOMO
— few will hold & have value, most won’t

— Charlie Lee [LTC⚡] (@SatoshiLite) March 2, 2021

Lee drew five parallels in support of his argument. Among them: ease of creation and understanding of the technology, zero intrinsic value, attracting a new audience to the industry, and high prices driven by hype.

NFTs and ICOs are also endorsed by celebrities. In February 2018, Hollywood actor Steven Seagal became a brand ambassador for the cryptocurrency startup Bitcoiin2Gen and actively promoted the ICO campaign on social media.

In February 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fined the actor $314,000 for concealing compensation received for promoting the startup’s token sale. In February 2021, the SEC charged Bitcoiin2Gen’s partners with fraud worth $11.4 million.

In March, the singer Grimes sold a collection of NFTs containing unreleased music for $6 million.

Earlier, Li predicted the crash of NFTs due to the “zero cost of creating them”.

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