To Ponzi or Not To Ponzi ===>> A Look Into Bitconnect & the BCC coin Part II
Satoshi vs. Satao
A Look Into Bitconnect & the BCC coin Part II
The Evolution
In Part I we saw the evolution of Bitconnect.co go from a peer-to-peer lending solution to being one of the early ICO's of 2017 with its own crypto-coin, BitconnectCoin, and its own internal exchange. Bitconnect also introduced to its platform the Bitcoin Price Volatility Trading Bot where its members can potentially reap up to 40% in monthly returns.
This incredible return rate is probably the biggest flag or warning sign that Bitconnect.co is most likely a Ponzi Scheme or at the very least some sort of a scam. There is no corporate structure to Bitconnect, which is registered as a British company with a single shareholder by the name of Mr. Ken Fitzsimmons. Mr Fitzsimmons has never addressed the Bitconnect community privately or publicly. To further add to our mistrust of Bitconnect, the Head of Development for Bitconnect is oddly enough named Satao Nakamoto (not a typo).
Yet despite some of this strange background, oddities and incredible claims, the Bitconnect Community continues to thrive. The BitconnectCoin that started in the cents range now trades for well over $50 US Dollars. The BCC coin, I have come to learn, never actually traded on Bittrex as originally intended, but is currently traded on 3 other exchanges besides the Bitconnect internal exchange. The BCC coin has its own wallet, and can be mined or rather minted on a CPU/GPU. The BCC coin is a Proof of Stake coin with a finite amount of coins to be completely minted before the end of 2017. This does bode well for anyone 'hodl-ing' BCC coin should the whole BCC enterprise continue to grow.
And that is just the thing, the Bitconnect enterprise continues to thrive and grow. Bitconnect introduced its Bitcoin Volatility Trading Bot where it has promised returns of up to 40%, its Proof of Stake coin and its MLM referral program in late 2016/ early 2017. It has since not only grown financially into a $350 Million Dollar market capitalization but it is also starting to gain traction with investors growing into a global community.
Trading Bots have been around since before the advent of Bitcoin. Crypto-currencies trade 24 hours 7days a week on exchanges reached globally via the Internet, making it the perfect place to run trading Bots. This is not new, and it appears that Bitconnect is doing the same by capitalizing on Bitcoin's volatility with their proprietary trading bot or bots, as some suspect. This might account for how Bitconnect can offer an exchange for trading BCC coin without any fees. The BBC coin is a Proof of Stake coin technically making it an appreciating asset. Should you choose to lend your BBC coin to the Bitconnect Trading Bot, then I suspect that the invested Bitcoin for Bitconnect coin gets traded on the Bitcoin Exchanges. The Bitconnect company can use their trading bots to sell Bitcoin high on one exchange while buying it low on another market, reaping large profits while paying the "lender" a small daily interest. This is all just speculation since Bitconnect is not going to give up any company secrets, whether they are good or bad for the Bitconnect investor.
Nonetheless, the Bitconnect community continues to fearlessly forge forward. The Multi-Level-Marketing (MLM) program for Bitconnect must be doing well, especially when successful members such as @trevonjb and @craig-grant show us not only their investment/loan returns, but also how well their referral programs are doing too. I imagine that there are many more successful Bitconnect members than there are losers. With such a winning streak it is no wonder that some are calling this a scam or 'too good to be true.' It can certainly look that way, but then again so can most of the crypto-currency landscape, especially with Bitcoin, Ethereum and others having such spectacular runs.
To Bitconnect or Not to Bitconnect
In the end I would still tread with caution. Mt. Gox should serve as adequate reminder that in the crypto-currency you should trust no one, not even yourself. Yes, Bitconnect has been doing well like the rest of the crypto-community, and there are many good signs that Bitconnect is a good player on the crypto scene. I recently signed up with Bitconnect, and had a referral issue where I had to create a support ticket. I wasn't expecting to receive a reply let alone have the issue resolved due to some of the negative comments I had read about customer service. Then I even received an email from Bitconnect corporate. I had emailed them in regards to this write up and if there was any information they would like to convey in regards to Bitconnect's anonymity. They simply acknowledged the fact that they remain mostly anonymous, but also stated that in the future they plan to list Top Sponsor/Promoters with one Corporate Representative. They also stated that in the future they may list publicly.Hopefully we see and hear more from Bitconnect. They recently were a sponsor for a conference on Blockchain Technology in Asia, and will be a sponsor again on the next one. Bitconnect will even have a guest speaker, Satishkumar Kumbhani, at this conference. Bitconnect looks to be on a path to continued if not explosive growth if it continues to produce or a massive implosion for its investors if it goes GOX.
This was a screen shot from my phone of the Bitconnect Email reply
This is not advise of any kind. I am vested in BCC and other crypto-coins.
If after all this you still think you want to become a BCC member, here is my sponsor link.
If you sign-up, let me know for some STEEM rewards.
I will be posting follow-ups to this topic
Full Steem Ahead!
07/05/2017
@streetstyle
So You Want To Mine Bitcoin?
Code rT5ix8 =3% off + Bonus in STEEM!
I provide the bonus STEEM
Sources:
Pic 1
Pic 2 Pixabay
Well. There's been a lot of posts relating to BitConnect, but not one as well written as this. Well Done!
I also have my suspicions with BitConnect...The thing is, now it's huge. It's a monster ranking with market capitalization and gaining almost everyday. The price of BCC doesn't even seem to trend with other similar cryptos.
It may very well be a ponzi...We may never know until it's too late. But I'll leave you with this question:
How many Ponzi schemes have a currency backing them?"
A ponzi scheme is one thing. It's a whole different animal when the mechanism has their own currency....Things that make you go "Hmmmm".
Also, how many Ponzi schemes have many of their investors extremely in the money? Find me another Ponzi that's has let some of the investors get 3,4,5 or even more times their seed money back.
Plus not to sound like a broken record for those that follow me, but the interest is not out of the realm of mining sites like Genesis or Hash Flare. In fact when Bitcoin was around 3000 my daily interest was a little over 1%.
I loved how last night when the BitConnect site was down for service haters were immediately jumping on it with there I told you so's. But here it is back up and running payouts a flowing.
Thanks a lot @altcointrends I tried to lay it out for everyone to see and judge for themselves. I do have suspicions but yes, it is a monster too big to ignore now, sitting on a pot of gold ( just hopefully not fool's gold).
Hey bro. I put up my response to your articles. Hope you enjoy it! https://steemit.com/bitconnect/@jetiknight/to-ponzi-or-not-to-ponzi-a-response-to-streetstyle
Crazy talk. Would you hand $10,000 to a stranger after asking his name and getting no reply? Bitconnect Believers do it everyday...nothing wrong with that?
To join BCC or not to join, that is the question.
yes @yaan That is where FOMO sickness comes in. Only cure for me was a small investment that if I lose I won't cry but if I win I will smile.
Enjoying these articles @streetsyle. When I first heard of bitconnect I also thought it was a HYIP, I even wrote an article about them a little while ago here: https://steemit.com/cryptocurrency/@futuristgear/avoid-all-hyips-don-t-be-scammed
I've changed my mind after seeing the numbers, because usually a HYIP would reach a fair chunk of money and then pull the plug. But BitConnect hasn't done that.
Unless they're trying to become the world's biggest HYIP heist at a billion dollars or something, I can't see why it hasn't already taken the money and run.
P.S. please use "too" in "too good to be true". I hate to be spelling police, but that one really bugs me. 👨✈️
Thanks @futuristgear I fixed the typo. And yes, in the back of my mind that thought still crosses my mind about them running off a la' mt. gox, especially since most of the transactions are centralized and take place on the Bitconnect servers. Holding their BCC coin in a wallet would probably be worthless any way if they do run of into the sunset. If they don't run, and you hold their BCC and they stop minting them, this coin could climb much higher, especially if what I see happening continues to happen.
No problem! 😊 I don't normally like to do that haha.
Yeah it is what I'd call "shady", but that doesn't necessarily mean they're going to run away with the money at some point. (Unlike most HYIPs/MLMs out there) a friend of mine is also invested in another program that is said to be using a bot and they seem to be really transparent about it all. So maybe Bitconnect is using similar software, but the owners just wish to remain anonymous?
I plan on doing some BCC investment soon to see what happens, but I won't be going "all in" on it by any means. I think I'd say I was skeptically optimistic about it.
Yeah, I would say the same about my investment with BCC; skeptically optimistic. If you do plan to join an invest in BCC, I do have my referral link and I do offer a Steem reward for using. It is a small token of appreciation based on what is invested/referral commission.
I will be doing a follow up on how it has been going for me so far with Bitconnect. And as for the trading bots, I think it makes sense, I just don't like all the secrecy about the ownership or its lack of transparency. We shall see, hopefully later rather than sooner if we do.
Nice incentive! I like that idea.
I've already got a bitconnect account, but I'll be sure to use your Genesis code at some point for sure. 👍
Thanks @futuristgear If you do use a Genesis mining code, be sure the 3% is reflected in the invoice before paying. Sometimes you have to try 1 or 2 times before the code actually shows up giving you a discount and me the referral. If and when you do, be sure to let me know so I can respond in kind with a small token of appreciation in Steem.
full steem ahead!
Will do that for sure!
Thank you @streetsyle
Very interesting, thanks for the thorough research on this 👍
invest an amount you're ready to loose, cash in your 1% everyday then icing on the cake, you get your investment back at the end of 3 to 6 months... and if you don't, like in any game, you play you loose and you keep your head up high because you know that in anything in life, you're just playing, with more or less risks, but still playing.. this kind of system is based on the trust of the community. If we trust, it will work, and that's why it's going like crazy right now.. if we don't trust, like any other business, it will crash, and that's it .. end of the game.. so ponzi or not ponzi, people are making tons of money everyday just with interests.. I will take the leap of faith because I trust cryptos and this whole new world! thanks for your thought provoking post. peace
@xianda thank you for your comment. I have invested what I know I can lose and not cry or worry about. I don't actually trust it 100%, but it is worth the risk.
Same here! ;)
Well, I'll make sure to tread with caution like you said should I join up with bitconnect. Thanks for posting these articles, bud! Really informative stuff that should hopefully help some people out!
I think the biggest reason I put this out was because I myself was ambivalent about Bitconnect. I am actually still not 100% sure of it, so I therefore only invested what I can lose without moaning too badly. If I lose then I know why and I expected. If I win, then it will feel much better than losing and I won't have missed the boat. Thanks for commenting @deadspace
That's a great way to look at it, and so long as you're only investing what you feel comfortable losing then I wouldn't lose sleep about it (Which I'm guessing you're not, lol). Worst thing that happens is you learn to stay away from them, meanwhile the other side of the spectrum is that you profit. And, no problem, man! Again, thank you for sharing the great content :)
Here is my take on it, made two posts about a month ago.
https://steemit.com/cryptocurrency/@debugger/why-bitconnect-is-a-scam
https://steemit.com/cryptocurrency/@debugger/who-is-the-real-owner-of-bitconnect
I appreciate the info and the effort @debugger
full steem ahead!
Nice postings. I upvoted and resteemed both. I will do a follow up article to this. I really liked how you approached this and I would like to elaborate on a few things.
Thanks @jetiknight I look forward to your input.
full steem ahead!
Sorry, I somehow quoted you in another conversation. Here's that article. https://steemit.com/bitconnect/@jetiknight/to-ponzi-or-not-to-ponzi-a-response-to-streetstyle Great work again on your posts, let me know what you think.
great !
Sounds like some warning signs to me, better tread with caution, thanks for the advice