Hmmm...interesting PR strategy. They used the old dodge to get around the bad press surrounding the "controversial" Bitcoin.
Cryptocurrency, known by frequent users as 'altcoins', is perhaps best known to the general public by its most controversial iteration, Bitcoin. Bitcoin, while popular, is mired in conceptual flaws that cause its value to fluctuate wildly, and is subject to mining and other scams that have hit headlines. With Bitcoin's development stagnating due to a lack of core coders and internal political differences, many are looking for alternatives. In a recent BitcoinTalk Announcement Thread, Qora promises to be the best hope for the future of cryptocurrency.
Said old dodge being, "We're not like them!"
Be interesting if it works. Myself, I'm going to bite the Reputation Management bullet and just acknowledge the seamy side that's common to the whole field. As it turns out, the Bitcoin community itself came up with a golden recovery meme publicity-wise: cryptocurrency now is like the Internet itself right around 1993 or 1994. That comparison fits quite well, as the Internet itself was wild and woolly too at that time. I wasn't around back then, but I've read up on it and they're right. The parallels are striking.
However...Qora's going with the "We're Not Like That!" strategy in a basically nice way - although I have to say it's a little cheeky of them to add "Bitcoin, while popular, is mired in conceptual flaws that cause its value to fluctuate wildly". As if Qora's value hasn't fluctuated wildly...
The aforementioned bump seems to have ignited before the press release circulated, so the cause is probably the usual hot-house speculation in these parts. When I checked at Bter, the pump doesn't seem to have had much staying power.
With 7 Nxt/Fiat pairs (USD, EUR, GBP, NOK, DKK, SEK, CHF), I will be doing all my future fiat exchanges there.
