←back to thread

BitConnect Closes Exchange as States Warn of Unregulated Sales

(www.bloomberg.com)
389 points JumpCrisscross | 1 comments | 17 Jan 18 01:04 UTC | HN request time: 0.304s | source
Show context
ve55 ◴[17 Jan 18 01:56 UTC] No.16164829[source]▶
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.

replies(12): >>16164865 #>>16164910 #>>16164929 #>>16165009 #>>16165080 #>>16165085 #>>16165220 #>>16166320 #>>16166678 #>>16168745 #>>16170456 #>>16174953 #
JumpCrisscross ◴[17 Jan 18 02:03 UTC] No.16164865[source]▶
> 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.

[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.

replies(6): >>16165014 #>>16165398 #>>16165450 #>>16166523 #>>16167106 #>>16172406 #
nradov ◴[17 Jan 18 04:11 UTC] No.16165398[source]▶
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

replies(3): >>16165445 #>>16165500 #>>16175756 #
1. QAPereo ◴[17 Jan 18 04:36 UTC] No.16165500[source]▶
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.