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 encouraged to re-invest your returns.
What has happened today is Bitconnect has closed the exchange on their website, and so users flocked to some of the only other exchanges (of dubious reputation, since no reputable exchange wanted to list the BitConnect coin) in order to sell their now-worthless tokens, resulting in losses of around 90% today: https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitconnect/
Many famous Youtubers and other individuals with influence convinced hundreds of people to put their money into BitConnect in order to profit off of referrals, leading to a lot of unfortunate losses and a lot of delusion and misinformation among devoted investors. The general sentiment towards those that lost money due to BitConnect has been a mocking attitude in the cryptocurrency investment communities, as BitConnect has been referred to by many as a blatant ponzi scheme for months.
> 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 States, send a copy to the SEC [2]. If you lost more than a token amount, I would also recommend contacting an attorney.
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.
Funny thing, I noticed because it is using an old version of our 3D player on their home page (the 3D robot), and they are getting an incredible amount of traffic.
Yeah, HitBTC has the most volume, and it has a terrible reputation. See all the reports of "maintenance issues" when a coin traded there can be sold at a higher price on another exchange.
> 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 encouraged to re-invest your returns.
> What has happened today is Bitconnect has closed the exchange on their website, and so users flocked to some of the only other exchanges (of dubious reputation, since no reputable exchange wanted to list the BitConnect coin) in order to sell their now-worthless tokens, resulting in losses of around 90% today:
> Many famous Youtubers and other individuals with influence convinced hundreds of people to put their money into BitConnect in order to profit off of referrals
One of the Youtubers, Cryptonick said clearly on his Youtube account that he was 17 years old.
Do you know that as a fact? I'm not trying to defend bitconnect, I just think it's dangerous living in a world where people state things as facts that have not been proven.
People often cite the high rate of return from their trading bot as "proof" that they're a ponzi, but I don't buy that because run my own bitcoin trading bot and the returns are more than triple bitconnect's average.
People much smarter than I who are running the same trading bot get even higher returns than I do. I think bitconnect's return rate was low because they were skimming the returns, which explains why they would take other people's money even though their bot works... because they can make even more by providing it as a service.
Worse, fake BitConnect support accounts on Twitter are “helping users expedite” BCC to BTC by having them send their BCC to these pop up Twitter accounts. One has over 30k BCC. Yes the price crashed but still..
On the one side you've got an exciting unregulated universe developing at a very fast pace (with some really dodgy characters). On the other side you've got the traditional press, government and banking world, half tempted to embrace it but scared and quick to dismiss it... In the middle are the pundits mostly losing money.
It's a great time to be alive, this time will definitely be remembered in a few years, like the dot-com boom is.
They did give arguably one of the best memes in the cryptocurrency community though. [1] I'm sure you will see many a cryptocurrency thread today with some variant BITCONNNNNEEEEEECCCCC as a top rated comment.
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.
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.
I don't understand the law here. Are ponzis only illegal when you make money on it? How all those 'victims' are able to sue 'scammers' while only difference is they were late to the scheme?
A couple people I follow have called it a complete ponzi scheme for months. I hope those behind this get what they deserve: a lot of bitcoin and a lot of flaming paper bags on their porch.
[+] [-] ve55|8 years ago|reply
What has happened today is Bitconnect has closed the exchange on their website, and so users flocked to some of the only other exchanges (of dubious reputation, since no reputable exchange wanted to list the BitConnect coin) in order to sell their now-worthless tokens, resulting in losses of around 90% today: https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitconnect/
Many famous Youtubers and other individuals with influence convinced hundreds of people to put their money into BitConnect in order to profit off of referrals, leading to a lot of unfortunate losses and a lot of delusion and misinformation among devoted investors. The general sentiment towards those that lost money due to BitConnect has been a mocking attitude in the cryptocurrency investment communities, as BitConnect has been referred to by many as a blatant ponzi scheme for months.
[+] [-] JumpCrisscross|8 years ago|reply
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 States, send a copy to the SEC [2]. If you lost more than a token amount, I would also recommend contacting an attorney.
[1] http://www.nasaa.org/about-us/contact-us/contact-your-regula...
[2] https://www.sec.gov/complaint/select.shtml
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. This is not legal advice.
[+] [-] StavrosK|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] FLUX-YOU|8 years ago|reply
Jesus, this is pretty blatant.
[+] [-] bhouston|8 years ago|reply
Funny thing, I noticed because it is using an old version of our 3D player on their home page (the 3D robot), and they are getting an incredible amount of traffic.
[+] [-] dbcooper|8 years ago|reply
Yeah, HitBTC has the most volume, and it has a terrible reputation. See all the reports of "maintenance issues" when a coin traded there can be sold at a higher price on another exchange.
[+] [-] taberiand|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] LrnByTeach|8 years ago|reply
> 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 encouraged to re-invest your returns.
> What has happened today is Bitconnect has closed the exchange on their website, and so users flocked to some of the only other exchanges (of dubious reputation, since no reputable exchange wanted to list the BitConnect coin) in order to sell their now-worthless tokens, resulting in losses of around 90% today:
https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitconnect/
[+] [-] edkennedy|8 years ago|reply
One of the Youtubers, Cryptonick said clearly on his Youtube account that he was 17 years old.
https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/7r0ftz/cryp...
[+] [-] netsharc|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tzahola|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bonestamp2|8 years ago|reply
Do you know that as a fact? I'm not trying to defend bitconnect, I just think it's dangerous living in a world where people state things as facts that have not been proven.
People often cite the high rate of return from their trading bot as "proof" that they're a ponzi, but I don't buy that because run my own bitcoin trading bot and the returns are more than triple bitconnect's average.
People much smarter than I who are running the same trading bot get even higher returns than I do. I think bitconnect's return rate was low because they were skimming the returns, which explains why they would take other people's money even though their bot works... because they can make even more by providing it as a service.
[+] [-] unknown|8 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] TaylorGood|8 years ago|reply
@bitconnectw https://twitter.com/bitconnectw/status/953432382119514112
@bitconnectstaff https://twitter.com/bitconnectstaff/status/95333597084946430
@bitconnect_team https://twitter.com/bitconnect_team/status/95340164519865139...
@bitconnectteam https://twitter.com/bitconectteam/status/953500671558512640
[+] [-] notahacker|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] znebby|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dmix|8 years ago|reply
The choice of hardcore metal and drunk nerdy business/financey people dancing seems like such a bizarre choice.
Although I'm not familiar with the typical ra-ra sales (or self-help) events these types of people seem to be from.
[+] [-] anonytrary|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] avenoir|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] keyle|8 years ago|reply
It's a great time to be alive, this time will definitely be remembered in a few years, like the dot-com boom is.
[+] [-] jrochkind1|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] sitepodmatt|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] JumpCrisscross|8 years ago|reply
Did...it just re-launch? With a new token, BCCX?!
https://bitconnectx.co
[+] [-] Alex3917|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] BayesStreet|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] andirk|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mancerayder|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dreit1|8 years ago|reply
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbR1SXIje1U
[+] [-] brndnmtthws|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] aesthethiccs|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rdiddly|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] lagadu|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] swang|8 years ago|reply
https://twitter.com/francispouliot_/status/95346257940123238...
[+] [-] ufo|8 years ago|reply
Dunno about the rest.
[+] [-] KasianFranks|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Analemma_|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] yorby|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] shultays|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] thisisit|8 years ago|reply
https://coinmarketcap.com/historical/20171231/
[+] [-] unknown|8 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] homero|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] redsec|8 years ago|reply
[+] [-] andirk|8 years ago|reply