You can tell an altcoin is close to death when its price soars. That may sound contradictory, but that’s what can happen to crypto assets in their final throes. With low liquidity and thin order books, exchange-listed altcoins become prey to manipulators who send them skyward one last time for a quick profit.
The Paragon Case: A 6,800% Overnight Surge
On January 1, 2019, holders of Paragon (PRG) woke up to a stunning surprise: their coin had surged 6,800% overnight, from $0.30 to over $10. The project had been effectively dead for months, with the SEC ruling in November 2018 that Paragon must refund investors from its token sale. News of this “moon” was greeted with astonishment—and then suspicion.
Upon closer inspection, it became clear that the price spike was not a revival. Paragon had become the latest moribund coin to be subjected to a pump and dump. On the YoBit exchange, a mere $27,000 in trading volume was enough to propel PRG to double-digit prices before it crashed back down hours later. This pattern is increasingly common as the 2017 ICO bubble deflates and once-promising projects fade into irrelevance.
Two Ways for Altcoins to Die
In a blog post published on January 1, 2019, prominent bitcoiner Nic Carter performed a postmortem on 15 cryptocurrencies whose demise he had predicted at the start of 2018. Among those he successfully called out, two had their end hastened by 51% attacks: Verge and Bitcoin Gold. For proof-of-work coins, a 51% attack allows an entity to control the majority of mining power, enabling double-spends and destroying trust. For non-minable tokens listed on exchanges, pump-and-dump schemes serve a similar purpose—extracting final value from a dying asset.
Carter noted that it is virtually impossible for a cryptocurrency to die completely, as residual trading volume and bargain hunters will always exist. But these artificial price pumps only reaffirm that the project is on its way out. Paragon, for instance, is already listed on Deadcoins.com, a graveyard of failed crypto projects.
Exchange Responsibility and the Future
The proliferation of pump-and-dump schemes highlights a gap in exchange oversight. Many small-cap altcoins remain listed despite negligible volume, providing fertile ground for manipulators. The Paragon case demonstrates how a tiny amount of capital—$27,000—can move an entire market. Some exchanges have begun proactively delisting low-volume pairs to reduce manipulation, but the decentralized ethos of crypto makes centralized intervention controversial.
Ultimately, pump and dumps represent the final indignity for dying coins: a last, cynical cash grab before the project is forgotten. For investors, the lesson is clear: when a dead coin suddenly surges, it’s not a second chance—it’s a warning to exit before the dump.