BitConnect Closes Exchange as States Warn of Unregulated Sales • Hacker News Board

Re: BitConnect Closes Exchange as States Warn of Unregulated Sales

#71

Post by t3chn0SchO0lbus » Wed, Jan 17, 2018, 7:10 AM UTC

dudus wrote: post #14

andirk wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tether has remained at about $1/coin for a long time. Isn't it liquid if you trade it for BTC then to fiat?

If you trade it for bitcoin someone is selling you that bitcoin for tether. That person will go ahead and trade that tether for some other coin.... rinse repeat, but in the end someone is holding that Tether, if exchanges stop accepting tether eventually your only option is to cash out to USD. USDT is basically being used as a trade coin, to avoid cashing out (maybe to avoid taxation) or to speculate on USD with the…

I keep trying to wrap my head around the economics of this and maybe give Tether the benefit of doubt. I think the most damning technical detail is that there is no client-side wallet. We can't trade Tether amongst ourselves or engage in any trades that Tether doesn't have at least indirect control of.

Re: BitConnect Closes Exchange as States Warn of Unregulated Sales

#72

Post by rdiddly » Wed, Jan 17, 2018, 7:13 AM UTC

Nice to see a photo of something other than two golden Bitcoins. People who take & sell photographs of golden Bitcoins must be making almost as much money as Bitcoin investors, jeez.

Re: BitConnect Closes Exchange as States Warn of Unregulated Sales

#73

Post by jiggunjer » Wed, Jan 17, 2018, 7:18 AM UTC

zhjansbnas wrote: post #67

bhouston wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If $200M was printed today, then it likely doesn't exist. Hilarious that this is going on. At some point the music has to stop.

How does the printed tether enter the market?

I'm guessing the company offers them on some exchange, maybe slightly discounted.

Re: BitConnect Closes Exchange as States Warn of Unregulated Sales

#74

Post by a_t48 » Wed, Jan 17, 2018, 7:38 AM UTC

brndnmtthws wrote: post #2

BitConnect is definitely a ponzi, but I think this sets the wrong precedent. Exchanges should have voluntarily delisted BCC (many already have, but it still trades on some markets and is listed on coinmarketcap) rather than being forced by threats from the government. This gives regulators credence as our protectors and suggests they will try these strongarm tactics again in the future.

If all parties involved did the right thing, we wouldn't need regulators, would we?

Re: BitConnect Closes Exchange as States Warn of Unregulated Sales

#75

Post by josu » Wed, Jan 17, 2018, 8:08 AM UTC

brndnmtthws wrote: post #2

BitConnect is definitely a ponzi, but I think this sets the wrong precedent. Exchanges should have voluntarily delisted BCC (many already have, but it still trades on some markets and is listed on coinmarketcap) rather than being forced by threats from the government. This gives regulators credence as our protectors and suggests they will try these strongarm tactics again in the future.

None of the legit exchanges listed BCC.

Re: BitConnect Closes Exchange as States Warn of Unregulated Sales

#76

Post by tzahola » Wed, Jan 17, 2018, 8:15 AM UTC

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…

So... it’s like a stupidity tax?

Re: BitConnect Closes Exchange as States Warn of Unregulated Sales

#77

Post by swang » Wed, Jan 17, 2018, 8:21 AM UTC

maybe all the posts below are fake. i hope they are. kinda sad how many people were fooled into this so easily.

https://twitter.com/francispouliot_/status/95346257940123238...

Re: BitConnect Closes Exchange as States Warn of Unregulated Sales

#78

Post by kbart » Wed, Jan 17, 2018, 8:24 AM UTC

StavrosK wrote: post #41

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.

Exactly. My father is one of such people, and believe me, I've tried everything: I explained him rationally, I talked to him nicely, I showed him examples, I even threatened him -- nothing helped. Finally I gave up, he went bankrupt and only that changed him somewhat (though he still buys lottery tickets in small amounts).

Re: BitConnect Closes Exchange as States Warn of Unregulated Sales

#79

Post by Marazan » Wed, Jan 17, 2018, 8:26 AM UTC

roel_v wrote: post #70

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Remind me, because your comments in this thread don't make it quite clear to me - are you a lawyer? Is this legal advice?

I believe the reasonable person test would result in a court coming to the conclusion that he had presented himself as neither a lawyer nor that he was giving legal advice.

However, I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice

Re: BitConnect Closes Exchange as States Warn of Unregulated Sales

#80

Post by skgoa » Wed, Jan 17, 2018, 8:31 AM UTC

everdev wrote: post #58

closeparen wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Ponzi scheme work because people believe the fraud (promise of high returns). If they said, deposit your money and we'll pay you back only if enough people after you also deposit their money then you'd have an interesting point, although I'm sure it's still illegal even if you announce your intentions before doing something illegal.

With Ponzi schemes the situation is even wrose for the perpetrator: they are explicitely illegal and you can't get out of legal ramifications even if you are completely honest and upfront.