Bitconnect Investigation: If this is a scam and it falls, the Government will not turn a blind eye.
Just a note to explain to why I have not posted the last few days;
Whenever you watch a CryptoCurrency YouTuber they always end by saying;
"Do your own research and make up your own mind"
Well I decided to do just that about the notorious Bitconnect
For the past week I have spent day after day reading, watching and learning everything I can about it in order to make up my mind if it is indeed a scam or not.
Friends and family who know me very well, know that, whenever I go on an investigation crusade like this, I do my very best to leave no stone unturned.
I am an artist by profession and on art circles I am known for my love of detail. My artwork is intricate because my mind loves intricate detail. As a child my greatest joy was to take apart anything electrical to see how it worked. According to my grandmother, at age five, I almost severely electrocuted myself. My mother had left me alone to play and when she came in to check on me she found me peering into the back of the TV set. I had somehow taken off the back of it while it was still on. This became a pattern in my life of wanting to take things apart to see how things worked.
When the 2008 crash virtually destroyed the world, it also destroyed art career. I had just got my big break at an international gallery in Oslo, Norway, and the crash came the very same week. Not a single work of art was bought in Norway that month due to the FUD (Fear Uncertainty and Doubt). This put an end to my career before it had even begun. The art world is still in recovery to this day.
Me outside International Gallery Pingvin, October 2008
Anyways, after the initial shock of this event, came the anger.
I had always distrusted the banks but now I was furious at them. Once I had calmed down, I was once again driven to begin my own investigation into uncovering out how this could have happened.
I wanted to know everything about how money works.
I spent the next two years reading books and watching documentaries on the history of money.
What I learned made me even more angry at the banks. I am a rather forgiving person but I admit I struggle to forgive the financial elites. Eventually this is what lead me to discover Bitcoin back in December of 2012.
Of course it was the crash of 2008 that intially motivated Satoshi Nakomoto toe create Bitcoin.
Five years on and an entire ecosystem has been built around Bitcoin.
Whatever crypto coin you believe in, have invested in, I think we can all agree that we want it to succeed and grow long into the future. I know I do.
And this is why I have come to the conclusion that the case of Bitconnect is extremely serious.
If Bitconnect is a scam, the effects of its demise could be so great that, I believe, it would lead to the very excuse governments need to impose heavy regulations and restrictions on the cryptocurrency space. This would, at the very least, destroy the flow and enthusiasm of this exciting and world changing market.
I came to this conclusion after I watched this video below.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="
Can anyone else see what I can see here?
When I saw this video, of which there are two others, I felt it was a turning point in the history of Bitconnect.
Young people dancing, singing a message of financial freedom if you invest in Bitconnect.
Bitconnect have crossed the moral line here. Of course, all scams cross the line, but this...
If Bitconnect is a scam, it will not only be the financial greedy who will lose, (and can probably afford to lose) but this time it will be our children and our grandchildren. The effect of this could be cause serious emotional trauma with some possibly being led to commit suicide.
If the people behind Bitconnect decided to close down and run off with the money, that´s $600 million dollars, can anyone doubt that the government would not use this as an opportunity to attack Bitcoin?
This is why I have spent the entire week investigating everything I can about Bitconnect to find out what exactly is it. There are only two choices:
It is either the biggest scam in history
or it is a genius revolutionary investment opportunity.
I am currently working on a post to tell of the results of my investigation.
I will be posting it soon.
What I write is merely my own thoughts from my own life experience.
If you like what I post you are very welcome to follow my blog.
A friendly upvote is always appreciated and a resteem I see as a gift.
A warm welcome back in advance
Excellent post. Thank you. Please be aware I am flagging posts shilling Bitconnect.
Thank you.
Glad to hear you are flagging shilling blogs of Bitconnect.
I am 100% behind you on that one.
I consider this case extremely important. I dont think anyone can disagree that this has the potential to inflict a major wound on cryptospace. Not to mention people whose reputations could be ruined. People like Trevon James for example, who is a big promoter of Bitconnect.
My next blog on this bitconnect "issue" will be to tell my journey of what I have uncovered and discovered.
So many times I have gone back and forth from thinking it was legit to being a scam and then back again.
I still have a some more information to read/digest before make my final conclusions and then I will put it altogether in a post.
Thanks for the interest, but rest assured, I am only interested in finding the truth here.
Would you flag this post: https://steemit.com/cryptocurrency/@vimukthi/trevon-james-vs-vitalik-buterin-in-depth-analysis-commentary-on-bitconnect
It explains how the whole thing is sustainable. Mainly this BitConnect thing is Connected to Bitcoin. (No sh*t Sherlock) And we all know what happens with Bitcoin. It all keeps going up up and up. BitConnect is connecting people. It will supposedly create 10,000 millionaires.
Plus it's nowhere near the scale of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Madoff scam. BitConnect can grow and make lots of people rich. It's something done for humanity. It's about human values and it can grow a lot more. Economics should be fun and we'll all keep making lots of money. No work needed. We'll all just dance and watch Atlas Shrugged unfold.
@Vimukthi It is not clear whether you are being sarcastic in your post here, or sincere. Please can you clarify for readers where English is not their first language. Thank you - and Happy Steeming :-)
Obviously I'm being sarcastic. I mentioned BitConnect being much smaller compared to "Bernie Madoff" scam and I mentioned we'd be seeing Atlas Shrugged unfold. If you haven't read Atlas Shrugged, It's the 2nd greatest work of modern literature(IMO) and it is considered the bible of capitalism.
Please watch the AMAZING video I linked which is a minefield of spoilers for the book.
Also you can simply just follow the link and read my article.
Just for the fun of it here is the first few minutes from one of the greatest documentaries ever:
Here are few more just because Ayn Rand was one of the greatest women ever lived:
English is a second language for me too BTW.
Loved the videos of Ayn Rand's philosophy, she still says things I don't understand, but her words resonate with my soul!
Wow! Great to find another Rand lover. Did you read the article I wrote about Ayn Rand? It's got a lot more content and personal recommendations. If Rand resonate with you, try The Admiral: Roaring Currents. It's simply the best Korean movie ever. It's a movie that is a recreation of the Battle of Myeongnyang where one Admiral with 12 ships went against 333 ships (133 warships, at least 200 logistical support ships). The first hour of the movie is about the struggles of the Admiral and the second hour is a non-stop recreation of the actual battle. No exaggerations. The creators actually had to downplay certain historical facts because people would have taken the movie as an exaggeration. But don't read the real events yet. Watch the movie and then realize that the real Admiral was more badass than the one in the movie.
BTW the movie cost less than 2 episodes of Game of Thrones. Just a fun fact.
Is this the article you made about Ayn Rand? https://steemit.com/philosophy/@vimukthi/how-ayn-rand-became-the-greatest-prophet-of-our-time-how-her-philosophy-was-born-it-s-use-in-modern-times-and-criticisms-against
Yep. That's the one. Did you check out the movie? You won't regret it.
I greatly enjoyed viewing the clips with your post :)
I actually ended up putting the videos together in an article because I thought not enough people are talking about Ayn Rand on steemit. Hopefully You'd like it. It'll take over an hour to go through all of the content I put there. So take it slow and let me know if you like it. Thanks for the totally unintended inspiration.
https://steemit.com/philosophy/@vimukthi/how-ayn-rand-became-the-greatest-prophet-of-our-time-how-her-philosophy-was-born-it-s-use-in-modern-times-and-criticisms-against
@vimukthi, I know that you were being sarcastic. I was worried other people might miss it. I enjoy your posts. Happy Steeming :)
Looks like its either a massive swindle or a major paradigm shift
The Federal Reserve is the worlds biggest scam that ever exist.
The Social Security is a ponzi scheme that has all ready ran away with the money. Yet millions pay into it every week.
No argument from me on that one, I 100% agree.
So do we want the crypto space to have the same reputation?
The whole movement, and yes I call Bitcoin a movement, began because it was a direct response against the power of the fed bank and fiat currency in general.
Satoshi Nakamoto himself supposedly said (when he posted the white paper): "If you are disgusted with the corrupt financial system as I am, this might be another way of storing and transferring monetary value"
In the beginning Bitcoin was virtually worthless, no one could possibly have foreseen its rise. Therefore those who got into Bitcoin joined because they believed it its concept as an alternative way out of the swindle that we call the fiat system. Not to become millionaires.
Now it has grown to a billion dollar ecosystem. A system we all want to succeed. Thus the last thing the cryptospace needs is for some gigantic swindle scandal that burns our naive youth.
I was somewhat OK with Bitconnect being a scam as long as only those who can affore to lose have invested in it, but when they now go out to actively recruit the young and impressionable, then in my opinion, they are crossing a moral line that I believe sets a precedent. And one that could have enormous and serious consequences.
I simply cannot keep silent on this.
Amen
While a Bitconnect scam might hurt alts and the whole cryptocurrency market temporarily I believe the world's governments are already OK with Bitcoin. Since it is actually very easy for them to track every transaction on it. I don't see a bunch of hit pieces on BTC everyday anymore, in fact a lot of the press is relatively favorable.
Now privacy coins maybe not so much. Those they may actually crack down on. Ultimately I think they are the best long term investments but it is going to be a rough ride.
I mostly agree with you.
The reason why I just now have become so bothered about Bitconnect is because of these pop videos they have put out recently. In my opinion, by actively investing in making professional marketing videos specifically aimed to appeal to the younger generation, is a crossing a moral line that I have not seen before. Bitconnect has largely been silent but now they are actively wanting to be seen and are promising hope and joy. Why now?
Also, you cannot go out and make promises to the young and naive like that if you know that you are a scam and think you can get away with it. The consequences of this are huge because by doing that you are actually saying that you believe we are living in a world where this is OK. This sets a dangerous precedent. Even hardened criminals in prisons generally believe that harming children is out of bounds ( I discount pedophiles of course) This is why it got my attention.
For to such a thing you are either genuine or pure psychopathic. I have extensive knowledge of psychopathy and have been used as a consultant for the police on some occasions but that is another story. But just to say that putting out pop videos like this is crossing a line that is new. We are heading into new moral territory here because the world is getting smaller and what one country might feel is a moral outrage another country might consider it OK. What do we do about that?
I still have some more information to go through as yet as I am undecided if it is indeed a complete scam as yet. It may be partly a scam and partly true. The story is a fascinating one and one I will be posting a complete report of in the next day or so.
Yeah, I saw one of those videos too and it definitely has a slimy feel to it. When I was younger I got sucked into a few multi-level marketing schemes and it has the same feel to it.
Thanks I'll be looking for that post. I didn't forget about the Yoda story either. It took me awhile to find some good photos of him for the story.
Hi sir arthuradamson. I am a 19 year old Cryptocurrency enthusiast from the Philippines and I am invested in Bitconnect and Regalcoin. I love lending platforms and I am happily cautious about my investments in them. While it is true that investments in these platforms carries certain amount of risk you have to agree that the prospects of earning passively just by investing is too good to pass up, well at least for me. It is easy to generalize dismiss that anything that gives 1% above earnings everyday might be a ponzi scheme this type of earnings is very much possible in the trading (which I am also doing). So where does the money come from? are we certain that it is coming from new investments of other people? We can never be too sure and we can just speculate on it. What i am just saying is that higher returns means higher risk. Just don't invest on something you don't fully understand. Invest only amounts that you are willing to lose. As for me my investments on these platforms are just extra incomes on the side and by no means will be my main earning. I use the income that I accumulate to invest here in Steemit.
Good to hear from you and I totally agree. Do not invest what you cant afford to lose. I am also invested in Bitconnect myself joining in April of this year 2017. I am perfectly aware that the crypto space is full of scams and ponzi schemes but I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and I only invested what I could afford to lose.
The reason why I only now decided to investigate Bitconnect was because of these pop videos that have have recently been put out.
This was a game changer in my opinion because now they are actively making professional marketing videos that have a specific appeal to the young generation who can be easily fooled. This is very serious and if they are not legit then they have crossed a moral boundary that will have serious consequences on the future of cryptocurrency itself.
@arthuradamson I think the real question is, is Bitconnect contributing to the rise of Bitcoin? If so, it's a bubble feeding a bubble....backed by a ponzi scheme. The effect on Bitcoin will be cataclysmic if and/or when it unwinds.
100% agree @katyclark and I think you have pretty much hit the nail on the head. Of course the entire fiat money supply is a bubble. People in finance often talk of "what is the next bubble". Bitcoin is in a bubble situation right now as it has been in the past, especially 2013, however it did correct itself over time and it will again. For sure BitConnect is in part contributing this bubble and if or when it collapses it will be devastating,and my concern is for the young impressionable who have put money into it that cant afford to lose it as well as the emotional affect it would have. There trust could be ruined for life . once bitten twice shy.
BitConnect promoters create a great deal of hype. So the bubble feeding a bubble is very accurate. Of course BTC has many other stuff going on like the first mover advantage. The biggest problem is people don't see BTC as a technology that is aiming to be P2P digital money. Dash is currently the best candidate in this department. With the coming upgrade their already ultra low fees will get 10 times cheaper. They also have InstantSend with 1.3second transactions on protocol level with zero outside influence for only 10 times the cost of normal 2.5 minute transactions. I'm also pretty impressed with Bitshares. I think it has a great future. Hopefully it'll become more user friendly along with time.
I am still not 100% sure BitConnect is a scam. I had a look at it myself and noticed something that is staring people right in the face:- You invest with Bitcoin and the pay you back in dollars. NOT Bitcoin. Dollars always lose value while Bitcoin (and BCC) goes up in value. This is pretty clever because the bubble fuels itself - really clever. As long as Bitcoin keeps growing so will BCC. It might take many years before it fails, if at all. We might b looking at a new kind of Banking that has not been seen before.
I think the way to win is to invest a minimum amount and as soon as you get your stake back you withdraw it and after that you are playing with "their" money. If it closes after that then you have lost nothing.
"You invest with Bitcoin and the pay you back in dollars. NOT Bitcoin. Dollars always lose value while Bitcoin (and BCC) goes up in value. This is pretty clever because the bubble fuels itself ." Basically the same story has housing bubble. I don't call it a scam thinking some people with run off with other people's money. It's a ponzi because it's unsustainable. Please take your time to watch The Big Short. It's an amazing movie that explain the housing bubble really well. You'd see many parallels with that and BitConnect. You might not want to call the housing bubble a outright scam. But it was some real BS acts propelled by greed that ended up blowing up on everyone's faces. Instead of investing in BitConnect I'd say put your money on EOS or WTC or something similar with ZERO risk and possible higher returns. Do your own research and you'll see that EOS or WTC going up 100X in 1-2 years is almost guaranteed. Also you can try some trade recommendations from @haejin for Massive Profits. That's a much safer play. All it need for BitConnect to crash is a massive BTC correction which is to be expected with recent growth+terrible fundamentals+ Competition that leave BTC in dust.
There will not be a big BTC correction because now the big players are involved in the game like giant corporations and they will wait till BTC goes down a little and then buy a huge amount cheaper. So I expect BTC to go up again pretty fast. Or there will be a pump on BCash because of a fork on its way.
I have been in the game for a while my friend.
All the money going on alts now is FOMO and FOMO that soon dies down.
You also missed my point. Dollars are designed to go down due to over production but BTC is designed to go up due to scarcity. Therefore BCC is always going to be ahead of the dollar becasue they hold hige ammoints of BTC from people investing in it. On top of that they have there own altcoin of which they also have huge reserves of and that will always go up if Bitcoin does.
It is not a bubble but a balloon. As long as BTC is around then BCC will be too. The only thing that can stop BCC is themselves if they decide to run off with the money. If they decided to do that then they would be fools to destroy the goose that is laying golden eggs. And where would then run too? The russian mafia would find them within a few days.
I am not endorsing BitConnect Im am just saying I believe I have worked out how they do it and I have a feeling that they just might have become "too big to fail".
For the first time in history we are looking a bubble in an environment of deflation rather than an inflation one. That is why believe people can not get their head around it.
I studied finance for 3 years my good fellow but I appreciate your concerns.
Take care.
Once again, Vimukthi, we are on the same plane. I agree with you about DASH AND Bitshares :))
I confess that people my age are very impressionable. Then again we don't really have a lot of money to lose since most of us are broke lol Kidding aside I believe that we are presented with many opportunities in life for now i am just seizing every opportunity i get. I am a dreamer you see and i think my fortune is written in cryptocurrencies :)
Exactly. I understand that the young do not have money however they might take out a loan from a bank or worse from a loan shark.
Others will ask their parents or even grand parents.
CryptoCurrencies can be a great opportunity for everyone and the last thing we need are for a gigantic scam scandal to happen that affects the young and impressionable and taint the crytpo world in a way that would take a long time to come over. The media has a long memory.
Oh wow thanks for the upvotes forgot to thank you. Still recharging my SP I will upvote your post later. It is not much but that's all i have... for now @originalworks
So the outcome of your investigation would simply be a 50/50 'guess' at this point. I'll wait for your report... I don't like the odds! lol
I think you might be surprised.
Looking forward to the results. I have heard a lot of people say it is not good but I can't say myself. I definitely agree that banks can not be trusted much like governments. Good to have you back = )
Thanks @deerjay : )
If there actually is a trading bot, than it might very well generate 5 to 10% every day. some of that goes to the platform, perhaps they have a horde of investors in an office somewhere in Asia, so a percentage goes to them, and then 0% to 1.5% goes to the investors.
To me it all seems kind of legit as it has been consistent for over a year.
Yes they are secretive but if they aren't then the US, will send an army of CIA troops to blast Bitconnect into the stratosphere.
Good points, especially regarding the reason why they are so secretive. I go into some detail on this very point in my next post.
What really convinced me is THIS video, where the youtuber Kryptographyk looks at the company filings.....and they are in a baaaad shape. That's a definite nope for me.
Hi Nik, yes indeed - in my investigation I watched this video myself - however, apparently there are thousands of businesses that are registered this way and it is not illegal at all and does not prove it is a scam. Dodge perhaps, but only in terms of trying to doge paying tax. It is a trick that businesses use- set up a business,close it down and set up under another name. The creator of MacDonalds did this way back in 1960s.
The whole journey has been like going down a rabbit hole with no end but finally I am beginning to get a clearer picture of what is going on. Will be putting second blog later today giving the views of the crytpo community.- this exercise is what showed up a pattern. Patterns always real some part of the truth.
It goes deeper? Wow :D That's crazy. That all the representatives are not available, and social media spokes persons aren't willing to talk does not create an environment of trust either. Well, then I am looking forward to your follow-up!
Also here is a nice tweet from just a few days ago ;)
Yeah I saw that.
Thing is not quite correct.
BitConnect does not guarantee 1%. I discovered that in fact there are periods when the % is zero. Meaning the bot made no profits.
I checked this myself. The % rises and falls regularly. It seems that Vitalik was not given the whole information.You begin to see why the whole matter is not as clear cut as it first seems.
But why do we not get to see the source code or any software related to this mysterious bot? :0
Thanks God you're back my friend @arthuradamson. Regarding your research I will wait for the 2nd part of your blog. Although I have invested in bitconnect but still I want to know the truth. Thanks for your efforts. Stay Blessed!
I am currently putting together a report my good friend. I am also invested in Bitconnect and I thought it was on time I did some real research.