Moonriver (MOVR) has become one of the most popular cryptocurrencies around. Notably, Mr. Market paid a $450.83 Coin Price for Moonriver on 14 September 2021.
Moreover, CoinMarketCap named Moonriver the most trending cryptocurrency on 10 September 2021 and the second most trending altcoin on 11 September 2021. In contrast, CoinMarketCap listed Moonriver (MOVR) as the 220th most valuable cryptocurrency on 14 September 2021.
On 14 September 2021, CoinMarketCap estimated Moonriver had a Market Cap of $675.639 million, a Fully Diluted Market Capitalization of $4.504 billion, and a 24-Hour Market Market Volume of $48.443 million on 14 September 2021. They base those numbers on a Circulating Supply of 1.5 million MOVR, a Maximum Supply of 10 million MOVR, and a Total Supply of 1.5 million.
What is Moonriver?
Okay, so what is Moonriver (MOVR) and why is Mr. Market paying so much money for it? Moonriver has no apparent connection with the song Audrey Hepburn sang in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Instead, they label Moonriver a community-led parachain on Kusama (KSM). A parachain is an application-specific data structure that validates transactions on a blockchain. They describe Kusama (KSM) as Polkadot’s (DOT) canary network.
A canary network is an experimental blockchain with real economic conditions. In other words, a canary network is a proving ground for apps and other blockchain constructs. Developers can deploy and test apps in a canary network without real world damage.
Moonriver and Moonbeam
Interestingly, they also describe Moonvriver as a companion network to Moonbeam (GLMR) and a “permanently-incentivized canary network.” They claim Moonriver can test and verify new code under real economic conditions. Once they test and verify the code, they can deploy it to the Moonbeam and Polkadot blockchains.
Moonbeam (GLMR) is an Ethereum-compatible smart contract parachain that operates on the Polkadot blockchain. They claim Moonbeam creates a fully Ethereum-compatible environment on the Polkadot blockchain.
Hence, Moonbeam allows Polkadot smart contracts to operate on the Ethereum blockchain. Thus, users can deploy solidity smart contracts on Polkadot.
Similarly, they claim Moonriver allows Solidity smart contracts to operate on the Kusama blockchain. Hence you could use Moonriver to test Solidity smart contracts on Kusama and Moonbeam to test the same smart contracts on Polkadot and Ethereum.
How Moonriver could cash in on Smart Contracts
Smart contracts are algorithms that perform tasks in the blockchain. For example, the smart contract in a stablecoin makes payments in fiat currency when you spend the stablecoin. Hence, recipients of a Tether (USDT) payment can receive US Dollars.
I think the market for smart contracts can be huge because smart contracts could conduct many transactions. For example, a smart contract insurance policy could automatically pay claims. Similarly, a smart contract annuity could automatically send stablecoin payments to a beneficiary each month.
Moonriver could benefit from the popularity of smart contracts because it is a test environment for smart contract. The builders of a stablecoin, a smart contract insurance policy, or an annuity could use Moonriver to make sure the smart contract works before they release it to the public.
Potential users of Moonriver could include game developers, e-commerce companies, banks, investment banks, governments, investment companies, insurance companies, software companies, central banks, and cryptocurrency developers. Governments could use Moonriver to test smart contract benefits.
For example, they could test a Social Smart contract that pays smartcoin benefits to senior citizens on Moonriver. Additionally, a Central Bank such as the Bank of England could test a Central Bank Digital Currency in Moonriver. A Central Bank Digital Currency is a smartcoin or cryptocurrency a central bank mints.
Moonriver could be ideal for such testing because it is a full Ethereum-like environment that is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), DApps, and protocols. They claim users could deploy apps and smart contracts to the Ethereum blockcahin with minimal changes because they use familiar programming languages.
Is Moonriver (MOVR) a Good Cryptocurrency?
I think the Moonriver blockchain could have some value. However, I think the Moonriver (MOVR) token’s value is questionable.
To explain, MOVR is the utility token for the Moonriver Network (platform). They use the MOVR token to meter smart contract execution, facilitate on-chain governance, and monetize and facilitate the use of the Moonriver and Moonbeam network.
I think Moonriver’s value is small, because you can only use MOVR on the Moonriver Network. This cryptocurrency has no use beyond testing smart contracts on one blockchain.
Yet Mr. Market thinks, Moonriver offers value. For instance, CoinBase gave Moonriver a $450.39 Coin Price, a $674.8 million Market Cap, and a $48.5 million 24-Hour Market Volume on 14 September 2021. They base those numbers on a 1.5 million MOVR Circulating Supply.
Despite the price, I think speculators need to avoid Moonriver (MOVR) because it is a specialized and limited use. I also think Moonriver should serve as a warning to speculators. There are many cryptocurrencies, such as Moonriver, that have specialized uses and limited markets.
I think coins like Moonriver will never develop markets large enough to sustain high coin prices for a long time. Hence, speculators need to stay away from them.
Originally published at https://marketmadhouse.com on September 14, 2021.
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