Plasma (XPL): Hype, High Valuation, and Angermayer’s Risky Track Record

Plasma (XPL) is already making headlines before its launch, with a valuation expected to reach $5 billion. However, co-founder Christian Angermayer has a history, and some aspects of Plasma are questionable.

Plasma (XPL) aims to revolutionize the use of stablecoins like Tether (USDT) and is already generating huge interest in this concept before its launch. In cooperation with the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, investors have already deposited $1 billion in USDT to secure XPL at its debut. Data service CoinMarketCap currently calculates an expected Plasma valuation of around $5 billion. However, co-founder Christian Angermayer and specific crypto industry indicators are providing warning signs. The hype surrounding Plasma and XPL could be hopelessly exaggerated.

It’s striking that Plasma hasn’t yet announced when it plans to launch XPL. Whether the announced proprietary Plasma blockchain will fulfill promises like a bridge to Bitcoin and “confidential” transactions remains to be seen. Plasma and XPL don’t even have a ready-to-use product yet – and yet founder Christian Angermayer is already putting his money where his mouth is. On X, Angermayer is already talking about trillions of US dollars that will soon be transferred worldwide via Plasma.

Plasma Co-Founder Angermayer: Previous projects disastrous for investors

Christian Angermayer is well-versed in making big promises. He founded several projects before Plasma, particularly well-known companies Atai Life Sciences and Northern Data. Private investors had little success with their shares. Shortly after its IPO in mid-2021, Atai Life Sciences traded at almost $20 a share; today, it’s less than $5. The company aims to enable novel treatments for psychiatric illnesses using psychedelic mushrooms and other hallucinogens, and Christian Angermayer chairs the board.

A little over a year ago, the daily newspaper ” Welt ” ran the headline “Magic Mushrooms, Bad Numbers” and, through its respected chief reporter, Investigation, revealed some sensitive details about Christian Angermayer’s business model. This should also give Plasma something to think about.

Northern Data: Christian Angermayer was highly active

Christian Angermayer also played a prominent role in Northern Data as an investor and advertising figure. Our archive contains a skeptical report on Northern Data from July 2020, when the shares were temporarily listed at around €80 – today, Northern Data is worth less than €20. A simple Google search helps understand why Northern Data isn’t worth trust. Bitcoin mining also plays a role in the Northern Data story; for Angermayer, crypto is nothing new, and Plasma is a continuation of his activities in this sector.

Angermayer and Block.One: EOS brought in billions

Angermayer was also involved in Block.One, the crypto company behind EOS. The altcoin is now listed under the name Vaulta, and its history is extremely complicated, with the crash being massive. But during the EOS ICO, Block.One made a fortune by raising around $4 billion in Ethereum, and according to Business Insider, Christian Angermayer profited from this in multiple ways. So now Plasma and XPL – are patterns repeating themselves?

XPL token distribution at Plasma does not bode well for investors

Anyone interested in altcoins like Plasma’s XPL, which are about to launch, always takes a look at the token distribution. This doesn’t look good for private investors at XPL, with 25 percent of all Plasma going to the team and investors each. This means that the team and the early investors together hold 50 percent of all tokens.

Both are allowed to start selling XPL in larger tranches as early as the end of the second quarter of 2026 – anything other than a Plasma dump would be a huge surprise. Private investors would be left out in the cold once again, and Christian Angermayer would presumably be even richer than he is now.

Conclusion: Plasma, XPL and Angermayer – a disastrous combination

Christian Angermayer is once again demonstrating his talent as a gifted salesman with Plasma and XPL, there’s no doubt about that. However, Wirtschaftswoche already wrote in 2021 about Christian Angermayer’s “questionable track record” and stated, “Wherever he’s involved, major announcements are always followed by investor frustration.” We see massive risks of a repeat of this with Plasma and XPL.

Driving an unfinished project to a billion-dollar valuation, securing significant stakes in it, and then later dumping these on investors’ backs – these are the kind of combinations that damage the reputation of the crypto industry and result in losses for naive investors. So keep this history in mind if you’re serious about investing in Plasma (XPL) and, indirectly, in a Christian Angermayer project.

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(Featured image by Alesia Kozik via Pexels)

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