Top Social Gainers for February 11th, 2019

Here are today's biggest emerging stories in crypto, based on Santiment's data:

• Cpu/Randomx/Botnets

#3, #4 and #5 on today’s list, respectively

360+ new mentions in the past 24 hours

The Monero community is considering switching to a new, CPU-only PoW algorithm.

Following a recent analysis that suggests ~85% of Monero network is currently mined through ASICs, the XMR community is debating whether to switch to a more ASIC-resistant proof-of-work algorithm.

The proposed algorithm is called RandomX, and, according to the author, “aims to achieve longer-term ASIC resistance than the current CryptoNight-based tweaks”.

As a result, the algo would lend a notable boost to the network’s decentralization in the process.

There are several problems, however:

1. RandomX is CPU only. GPU mining would no longer be possible, or would at the very least stop being a viable option.

As one user stated, ‘There are a lot of GPU miners out there like me and it'd be a huge loss to Monero if they're gone and are no longer advocating for Monero by getting "backstabbed" by it.’

2. Some believe switching to CPU mining would increase the likelihood of botnets overrunning the Monero network. “No hobby miners would ever be able to compete with a botnet that pays 0c per kW/h in electricity.”

Others were calling the concerns overblown, saying there’s been little proof of botnet s acquiring a significant percentage of the hashrate, and claiming the very nature of botnets makes coordinating a 51% significantly more difficult.

You can check out the full discussion here.

• Binance/Safu (+Pump)

#6 and #8 on today’s list, respectively

330+ new mentions in the past 24 hours

Binance went down shortly, CZ says funds are ‘safu’

The number one crypto exchange in the world (by trading volume) faced a system issue, which put the whole network offline for a few minutes.

Shortly after, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao assured everyone that there’s no reason to worry:

“Everything should be back to normal now. Sorry about any inconveniences caused. Funds are #safu”, said CZ in one tweet.

So far, Binance has never been hacked (that anyone knows).

That said, some traders continued having issues accessing their accounts after CZ’s tweet, indicating that the network was not fully operational just yet.

System issues aren’t the only reason Binance is trending, however. BNB’s recent price action has been anything but bearish, as the coin recently hit a new all-time high in the BTC market at $0.00264. (it’s still down ~60% in the USD market).

Binance Coin is up 56% for the month, 38% for the week, and 3.54% for the past 24 hours.

• Ltc/Litecoin

#1 and #10 on today’s list

2450+ new mentions in the past 24 hours

Speaking of breakout coins, LTC’s 4-day upward trend still has the crowd talking.

As we mentioned in a previous report, there have been several big news surrounding the Litecoin network which has likely contributed to the coin’s rally.

As Charle Lee, the creator of Litecoin tweeted the other day: ‘Litecoin trying its best to lead all of cryptocurrencies out of this bear market.’

As usual in these cases, there’s been a lot of technical analysis of the coin lately. Some are seeing a bullish flag pattern on the hourly chart. Others are considering the ramifications of a downside trend.

For what it’s worth, last 24 hours certainly haven’t been particularly bullish for LTC. The coin had a downside correction at the $45.00 level and is currently down 6.65% for the day. It’s still up 36.5% for the month and 28.7% for the past week.

As always, visit SANbase to explore these and other trends in more detail!