Burger King’s new cryptocurrency is a whopper of a shenanigan
blockchain technology. What makes the WhopperCoin distinct is that users accumulate more of it not through computer mining, as with bitcoin, but rather by purchasing Burger King's sandwiches.
What causes me the most concern about Burger King's offering is their spokesperson's claim that the WhopperCoin is an "investment vehicle." Describing any cryptocurrency as an investment, especially one linked to the number of burgers one buys, may well be the definition of a whopper. But let me be clear: No one should consider this coin offering or any cryptocurrency to be an investment.
As with bitcoin, the market value of the WhopperCoin will fluctuate in value based purely on sentiment and the direction of the wind, not based on anything linked to economic fundamentals. Hence its price will be prone to wild gyrations that make it most unsuitable for all but gamblers seeking extremely high-risk ways to speculate. Furthermore, Burger King retains the right to shut down the market for WhopperCoin whenever it sees fit, an action that would render all the coins in circulation as worthless. Again, this does not make for great investment material.
I agree. This does sound like a sham, or a way to look like their trying to me in with the new crowd, but unwilling to leave the system in which they currently reside. Burger King is a corporation and if it truly wanted to innovate, it would not retain the right to shut down its market at any time. And it will KEEP all the earnings and everyone who invested will have lost.