In the cryptocurrency market, the phenomenon of copycat projects often fails to replicate the success of the original venture. 

The allure of "this is the next …." or narratives like, "built on top of..." or even “this helps burn”….and so on. 

Greed and self interest seek to vampire energy from a good thing instead of just supporting the original. Allowing the economic energy to flow where it should. This has become a plague in the crypto space and has been for some time.

When evaluating these projects, it's crucial to analyze the charts and trading volumes. If a token's price increase is solely dependent on its pairing with a rising asset, there's a significant problem. This dependency indicates that the token itself lacks intrinsic value or independent momentum.

Here's why this is problematic:

1. Lack of Independent Value: If a token's performance is merely a reflection of the asset it's paired with, investors would be better off directly investing in the asset with the actual value and momentum, rather than in its copycat promise coin counterpart.

2. Risk of Collapse: When the market dynamics shift, these tokens, lacking real demand, can suffer a decline. If there's no genuine buying interest supporting the token's price, once holders of that token begin to sell removing liquidity and thus the “weight of bonding” the token's value can plummet, leading to a slow death by attrition as liquidity providers sell off their holdings and token holders take profits removing the reflexivity between the two tokens.

3. Market Cap Illusion: If the market cap and token price increase without corresponding, volume, real liquidity or true demand, it creates an illusion of growth, which can mislead investors regarding the token's actual health.

In contrast, consider a token like PTGC, which, despite being paired with PLS, does not rely on the performance of PLS or any other token (like HEX, INC, or PLSX) to achieve significant growth. 

PTGC demonstrates “independent value”, suggesting a robust liquidity web and true user demand where the system benefits from interconnected value rather than being contingent on external performance.

To assess the true merit of a cryptocurrency:

- Invert the Charts: If your token doesn't perform well against the assets it's paired with, it might be considered a "fraud" or at least an ill-advised investment. In such cases, it's advisable to invest in the original, value-driven asset, partake in its yield opportunities, and strengthen your position in its yield pools.

Chasing trends can be enticing, but the savvy investor understands that true value more often than not lies with the original, proven token rather than the speculative, Promise Coin.

I call this the:
“Plague of the Promise Coin”

If your promise coin isn’t outperforming the underlying value coin then you may have a Frugazi in your wallet.