I agree with and this coin can be considered a dinosaur that deserves a little attention due to its intensity and market time. If you get look the coinmarketcap you will find Namecoin in the category of bitcoin at its beginning and at the present moment with just a few corrections and updates this currency is entitled in the top 10 of the market.
Namecoin will never ever be back in the top 10 of the market
antaresus
If you knew the true truth behind this coin you would not write this comment and without judgments I recommend you research a little more and try to understand the connection of Namecoin with Bitcoin being that there are other digital dinosaur coins capable of changing the course of history and Namecoin is among them. To finish, to be in the top 10 is necessary a high investment and if the Whales return to Namecoin this would happen fast.
I think namecoin is actually a non pegged (not now anyway) merge mined bitcoin sidechain unless I am mistaken?
Namecoin is not a sidechain, but it is merged mined with bitcoin. Look at this tweet for an overview of the hashrate:
https://twitter.com/NamecoinDNS/status/1037422550790430720