Hedera’s native cryptocurrency, HBAR, experienced a nearly 100% price surge in the past 24 hours. The rally came after news spread that BlackRock, a prominent U.S. asset management company, was bringing its ICS US Treasury money market fund (MMF) to the Hedera network for tokenization.
In response, HBAR’s price skyrocketed from $0.087 to $0.175 on April 23, accompanied by a trading volume of $1.48 billion, according to CoinMarketCap data. However, the digital asset has since retraced to $1.396 at the time of writing, with a market capitalization of $4.99 billion.
The 24-hour trading volume currently stands at $2.69 billion. The HBAR price dropped after it was clarified that BlackRock was not directly involved in tokenizing the $22.3 billion fund on the Hedera network.
Furthermore, the confusion started from a post by the Hedera Foundation, the nonprofit overseeing the network, on Tuesday on X (formerly Twitter). The post announced that blockchain companies Archax and Ownera had tokenized BlackRock’s ICS US Treasury Fund on the Hedera network. An accompanying video suggested a partnership between Ownera, Archax, and BlackRock, with HBAR claiming to bring BlackRock “on-chain.”
Moreover, many misinterpreted the news, including crypto influencers, leading them to believe that BlackRock was directly responsible for tokenizing the MMF or had partnered with Archax and Ownera.
However, the video received over 2.1 million views and thousands of reposts, contributing to the 96% surge in HBAR’s price on Wednesday morning.
Chris O’Connor Criticizes Hedera For Misleading Marketing
When the situation became clear, Chris O’Connor, founder of the Cardano Ghost Fund DAO, slammed the Hedera Foundation for what he perceived as misleading the public.
However, he clarified that the world’s largest asset manager had no hand in the MMF tokenization, stating that a project based on the Hedera blockchain had tokenized shares of a BlackRock fund through the secondary market.
“What did happen was an HBAR project through the secondary market tokenized shares of a Blackrock fund. Much like I can buy a Rolex, take a picture, and post it on my X account, it doesn’t mean Rolex ‘partnered’ with me,” said O’Connor on X.
Moreover, he expressed frustration with what he described as “misleading marketing” tactics that artificially inflate the value of HBAR.
“These kinds of misleading marketing pump my token pieces are gross. Lol, $HBAR pumped 35% based on a non-event. In a few days, insiders take profit and Rekt who? Don’t be a sucker,” he wrote.
Furthermore, despite HBAR’s surge to nearly 100%, the token is still far from recovering its 2021 highs when it traded at $0.57 during the last bull market.
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Furthermore, the author’s views are for reference only and shall not constitute investment advice. Before purchasing, please ensure you fully understand and assess the products and associated risks.
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