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BitConnect Closes Exchange as States Warn of Unregulated Sales

bloomberg.com

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Re: BitConnect Closes Exchange as States Warn of Unregulated Sales

#41

Post by StavrosK »

ve55 wrote: post #5

For those unaware, Bitconnect was a Bitcoin-based ponzi-scheme that had operated 'successfully' for quite some time. I don't say 'ponzi' as an insult in the way some do for cryptocurrencies, it was quite literally just a bare-bones ponzi scheme, where you deposit your money (Bitcoin) on their website, buy their token, 'lock' your funds for some amount of time, and you are promised very high interest rates while encou…

I know a few people who fell for this, despite my warnings. When you tell someone "these returns are astronomical, teams of PhDs in hedge funds cannot come anywhere close, do you think they're so dumb that they wouldn't put billions in this if it were legitimate" and they reply "yes, I do", there's no helping them.

Re: BitConnect Closes Exchange as States Warn of Unregulated Sales

#42

Post by JumpCrisscross »

Iv wrote: post #21
closeparen wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn’t fraud require deception? Wasn’t this pretty upfront about being a Ponzi scheme?

To have that line of defense, the youtubers would have had to phrase their claims very carefully. I am willing to bet a fistfull of dogecoin that this was not the case of all of them. Make them discover these actions have consequences, I can only see good sides to this.

> the youtubers would have had to phrase their claims very carefully

Ponzi schemes are one of those things you can't disclose your way out of.

Sort of like HIPAA [1]. If you violate HIPAA, "we disclosed our non-compliance to the patient" is an inadequate--and borderline aggravating--excuse.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_Insurance_Portability_a...

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. This is not legal advice.

Re: BitConnect Closes Exchange as States Warn of Unregulated Sales

#43

Post by nradov »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #6
ve55 wrote: post #5

For those unaware, Bitconnect was a Bitcoin-based ponzi-scheme that had operated 'successfully' for quite some time. I don't say 'ponzi' as an insult in the way some do for cryptocurrencies, it was quite literally just a bare-bones ponzi scheme, where you deposit your money (Bitcoin) on their website, buy their token, 'lock' your funds for some amount of time, and you are promised very high interest rates while encou…

> Famous Youtubers and other individuals with influence convinced hundreds of people to put their money into BitConnect in order to profit off of referrals If you lost money in this scheme and are in the United States or Canada, contact your state securities regulator [1]. Mention any such referral sources. Those individuals may be liable for securities fraud under state and federal law. If you're in the United State…

If you lost money in this scheme you are too stupid to live. Go hide your face in shame instead of wasting taxpayer money trying to fix your mistake.

"A fool and his money are lucky enough to get together in the first place." - Gordon Gekko

Re: BitConnect Closes Exchange as States Warn of Unregulated Sales

#44

Post by spookthesunset »

saalweachter wrote: post #37
idbehold wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The pyramid was literally on the Bitconnect FAQ page: https://youtu.be/wK0ztRcXvNQ?t=135

I mean, this being the internet, it could have started as a tongue in cheek joke and then when the money started rolling in the founders just kind of went with it. Which I think is a potential lesson for HN readers: something can be funny, but still be fraud.

No. My USDT is on them deliberately putting that crap on the site in order to weed out anybody with a functioning brain. It's kinda like Nigerian prince scammer emails are full of deliberate grammar and spelling errors. You gotta filter out the noise in your conversion funnel.

Lots of crypto-coin stuff, including virtually all "name brand" crypto's, do the same thing. Most of the marketing is full of complete political, financial, and computer science nonsense. Anybody educated in any of those topics takes one look at the crypto space and goes "nope. sounds too good to be true. pass". What's left is a much more, shall we say, naïve set of marks to go after. You know, the kind that won't likely sue the shit out of those at the top of the pyramid... or even report them to the authorities. A very nice feature of Bitcoin is it specifically targets those with an anti-authoritarian bent--the kind who blather on about tax-theft, how the police should be deregulated, free market private industries and how the system of law should be replaced with cold, hard, unfeeling computer programs. If you were a scammer, wouldn't you want to target a group of people who wouldn't in a million years report you to the police?

Good stuff. The "crypto space" is an amazing thing to watch. Never a dull moment.

Re: BitConnect Closes Exchange as States Warn of Unregulated Sales

#45

Post by ShabbosGoy »

nradov wrote: post #43
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Famous Youtubers and other individuals with influence convinced hundreds of people to put their money into BitConnect in order to profit off of referrals If you lost money in this scheme and are in the United States or Canada, contact your state securities regulator [1]. Mention any such referral sources. Those individuals may be liable for securities fraud under state and federal law. If you're in the United State…

If you lost money in this scheme you are too stupid to live. Go hide your face in shame instead of wasting taxpayer money trying to fix your mistake. "A fool and his money are lucky enough to get together in the first place." - Gordon Gekko

BitConnect executives should be jailed for one year per “BITCONNEEECCCCC” shouted.

Re: BitConnect Closes Exchange as States Warn of Unregulated Sales

#46

Post by nstj »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #6
ve55 wrote: post #5

For those unaware, Bitconnect was a Bitcoin-based ponzi-scheme that had operated 'successfully' for quite some time. I don't say 'ponzi' as an insult in the way some do for cryptocurrencies, it was quite literally just a bare-bones ponzi scheme, where you deposit your money (Bitcoin) on their website, buy their token, 'lock' your funds for some amount of time, and you are promised very high interest rates while encou…

> Famous Youtubers and other individuals with influence convinced hundreds of people to put their money into BitConnect in order to profit off of referrals If you lost money in this scheme and are in the United States or Canada, contact your state securities regulator [1]. Mention any such referral sources. Those individuals may be liable for securities fraud under state and federal law. If you're in the United State…

> token amount

:)

Re: BitConnect Closes Exchange as States Warn of Unregulated Sales

#47

Post by QAPereo »

nradov wrote: post #43
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Famous Youtubers and other individuals with influence convinced hundreds of people to put their money into BitConnect in order to profit off of referrals If you lost money in this scheme and are in the United States or Canada, contact your state securities regulator [1]. Mention any such referral sources. Those individuals may be liable for securities fraud under state and federal law. If you're in the United State…

If you lost money in this scheme you are too stupid to live. Go hide your face in shame instead of wasting taxpayer money trying to fix your mistake. "A fool and his money are lucky enough to get together in the first place." - Gordon Gekko

That seems both cruel, and needlessly harsh. Surely you yourself have weaknesses which could be exploited, and I hope that you’re not prepared to kill yourself over it. By the same token, telling people that they are too stupid to live is pointlessly cruel, unhelpful, and frankly wrong.

You can be intelligent, but old and suffering from MCI, or a more advanced dementia. You could be mentally ill, or brilliant in one field, but utterly ignorant of finances, or human nature. You could be a genius with TBI, or you could b young and foolish.

I can’t see what you’re saying as anything other than venting of spleen. Maybe it makes you feel better as a mechanism to cope with frustration, but I’d encourage you to reconsider that attitude toward your fellow humans.

Re: BitConnect Closes Exchange as States Warn of Unregulated Sales

#48

Post by TheSmiddy »

saalweachter wrote: post #37
idbehold wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The pyramid was literally on the Bitconnect FAQ page: https://youtu.be/wK0ztRcXvNQ?t=135

I mean, this being the internet, it could have started as a tongue in cheek joke and then when the money started rolling in the founders just kind of went with it. Which I think is a potential lesson for HN readers: something can be funny, but still be fraud.

for example: https://www.chemtrailvaccines.com/

Not really a fraud though, they WILL send you a bottle of mints as described

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