What happened
Few market participants seemed scared of cryptocurrency Fantom (FTM -0.50%) on Wednesday. In fact, they embraced it, as its price was surging 15% higher in early evening. That followed reassurances that the blockchain was not only likely to withstand the fallout from the FTX meltdown, but is also sufficiently capitalized to forge ahead with its activities.
So what
Fantom is one of a growing number of potential "Ethereum killers" -- in other words, a platform for decentralized applications (dApps). It has gained prominence for operating a relatively efficient and low-fee system for its users.
Understandably, investors are very wary of crypto and associated assets just now because of the tribulations of FTX. So it was good timing when, earlier this week, Fantom Foundation "architect" Andre Cronje published a post on Medium.com detailing the developer's finances. According to Cronje, they are sufficient to finance its operations for around 30 years -- a near eternity for the still very young cryptocurrency industry.
Specifically, Cronje wrote that the Foundation holds more than 450 million of its namesake Fantom tokens, over $100 million worth of stablecoins, a similar amount in crypto assets, and $50 million in non-crypto holdings. Its total salary burn rate is $7 million per year.
Now what
Despite the morale-sapping FTX disaster, many investors still deeply believe in the future of cryptocurrencies and the industry that has sprung up around them. Assuming Cronje's figures are accurate, Fantom is very well capitalized. As such, it's poised to succeed in its mission of becoming a better, faster, and more popular Ethereum.
