Entering the crypto market with the possibility of adding utility, is PLC Ultima really worth spending your money on?
In December 2021, a new contender entered the cryptocurrency market. Going by the name PLC Ultima (PLCU), the currency was just valued at US$0.10 when it first came into existence. To put this into perspective, 6000 cryptocurrencies had been launched in 2021, taking the total number of cryptos in the market from 10,000 to 16,000.
Sounds like nothing special right? But what separates PLCU from the other currencies that entered the market in 2021 is that despite its short lifetime, this crypto has attracted a community of over one million people from over 120 different countries. But before you decide to invest your hard-earned money into this crypto and become a member of this community, let’s take a look at what PLC Ultima is and whether it is really as special as it seems to be.
What is PLC Ultima?
PLCU is a deflationary currency with a maximum supply of 11,000,000 PLCU coins. But unlike other deflationary cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, PLCU is not intended to be used as a store of value. In fact, PLCU’s website defines it as an infrastructure project meant to bridge the gap between crypto and traditional businesses. To put it simply, the currency is meant to be used for making payments for goods and services instead of being used as an investment. It is different from other cryptocurrencies in the following aspects:
Minting as opposed to mining
PLCU’s blockchain is based on the Litecoin blockchain (a fork of the Bitcoin blockchain) adopting some of its features, like network stability, transparency and high transaction speed. What separates it from Litecoin and other cryptocurrencies on the market is that its coins are not mined but rather minted.
To mint a PLCU coin, users need to meet some necessary preconditions. They must purchase an Ultima Minter digital certificate which freezes a specific amount of their PLCU holdings. Then, they have to download the Ultima Farm application where coins will be mined, and their blocked holdings will be stored for a specific period of time (not longer than three years). Post this, users are automatically rewarded with new coins.
This process does not require users to have computers with high processing speeds. PLCU coins can even be minted using a smartphone. This makes it more environmentally friendly than the other cryptocurrencies out there. To maintain a stable value for PLCU in the long run, the number of new coins minted is reduced every month.
Providing utility
As we already said, PLCU was intended to facilitate transactions, and thus its developers have created the following product offerings—PLC Card, Platin Hero and Platin Deal.
PLC Card is a debit card that works exactly like a traditional bank debit card. It allows users to use their cryptocurrencies to make their day-to-day payments, be it online or anywhere else where you can make electronic transactions. The card isn’t limited to PLCU coins, but you can also use it to spend Bitcoin, Ether and USDT from your crypto wallet as well.
Platin Hero is a crypto-based crowdfunding platform. Here, individuals, businesses and even charities can raise money for any project under the sun. This is a great platform for investors because funds collected on Platin Hero are only frozen for a specific period, after which investors will receive their funds back with a reward. In other words, they don’t have to spend money to support projects and charities.
Finally, to make it easier for businesses to sell their products in exchange for crypto, the developers have created their own marketplace, Platin Deal. As of now, the marketplace is only available for use in Germany. The marketplace currently only has car purchase vouchers and apartments up for sale on it.
Reasons for PLCU’s growth
On top of the features mentioned above, PLCU’s founder Alex Reinhardt says that its value isn’t tied to other crypto assets as most coins are, making PLCU stand out from the crowd. He shares that PLCU’s value is instead linked to the real economy, which is rather stable and witnessing growth, helping it sail through market crashes with ease.
Another reason behind its popularity could be its community-centric approach. To ensure that the community continues to benefit from owning PLCU, the developers burn 1% of every transaction it processes. They also burn 100% of their own holdings to regulate the supply of PLCU in the market to increase the value of the coins in circulation.
Moreover, even though the general public believes that this cryptocurrency came out of nowhere, the developers had been working on it for five years, so they believe that the growth isn’t sudden but rather a result of sustained efforts.
But does this mean you should invest in this token?
All the good aspects of this token need to be carefully weighed against its downsides. The first and one of the most important ones is that there isn’t enough credible data about PLCU to help you make sound investment decisions.
It is also important to note that information, like PLCU’s circulating supply and live market capitalization, is self-reported at the moment. Also, while the token has an all-time high price of US$113,579, its current price (as of July 28) is US$7,100. This massive fluctuation is enough to make one question whether this currency is credible or not.
Also, there is some discussion of PLCU being a scam on Twitter linked back to founder Reinhardt’s alleged previous project, Platinum Coin, being flagged for financial fraud by the Mongolian Financial Regulation Commission. Some Redditors have also raised concerns about PLCU that it isn’t being traded on any of the standard crypto exchanges. The crypto is being traded on Bibox, Coinsbit, Digifinex and LBank. Among these, the most popular exchange is Bibox, but it has previously been criticized for allegedly letting scam coins list on its platform.
Whether this currency is as special as it claims is uncertain for now. Hopefully, this article helps you understand both sides of the coin so that you can make an educated decision before investing.
This article is meant for informational purposes only. Please make investment decisions based on your own discretion.
Also read:
Header image courtesy of PLC Ultima’s website.