Today BitConnect, one of the largest ponzi schemes in recorded history met its inevitable demise, destroying with it the life savings of thousands of small time investors.
Started in November of 2016, BitConnect ticked all the boxes on the ponzi/pyramid scheme checklist: it offered an online platform where investors could lend Bitcoin in exchange for daily guaranteed returns of 1%, on account of an arcane strategy involving a purported arbitrage bot.
In order to prevent investor withdrawals and to keep the scheme afloat, funds lent on the BitConnect platform would be locked for a period of several months.
Through the use of aggressive marketing tactics like huge banner ads on prominent websites like Coin Marketcap, and by enlisting the help of YouTube shills with hundreds of thousands of subscribers like Trevon James, BitConnect really went beyond what had been previously thought possible for crypto ponzis (often euphemistically called high-yield investment programs).
To be sure, there have been other massive frauds involving the use of cryptocurrencies, perhaps the most notorious being the Bitcoin Savings & Trust, a ponzi scheme started and operated by a gentleman called Trendon Shavers, who managed to defraud investors of something to the tune of 700,000 Bitcoin.
But given that the all time high for Bitcoin when the scheme fell apart in the Fall of 2012 was a mere $30, the amount invested and lost in BitConnect -- with its peak valuation of $440 per coin and a multi-billion dollar marketcap -- easily dwarfs Mr. Shaver's criminal racket.
Trendon Shavers was indited by the SEC and actually served a little stint in prison for his entrepreneurial scheme. But with the founders and operators of BitConnect hidden behind a deep veil of anonymity, and probably residing in a jurisdiction beyond the reach of the US legal system (assuming such place even exists), it may take years before the masterminds of one of the most brazen frauds in history are brought to justice.
Someone who is also probably frantically googling a list of countries with an amenable climate and no extradition treaty to the United States, is Trevon James -- who incessantly and shamelessly promoted BitConnect to an audience of hundreds of thousands of viewers on YouTube -- and who raked in an absolute fortune in referral links.
If you're reading this Trevon, I'd recommend you pack your bags and fly to Namibia.
Why Namibia? Well, that particular destination seemed to have worked out alright for disgraced financier Kobi Alexander, who managed to evade extradition to the US for almost ten years by paying off the local government.
An equally appealing alternative for the budget-conscious fugitive would perhaps be Venezuela. Given the current economic situation in that country, something tells me the government over there has neither the resources, nor the inclination to go after some small-time scammer from YouTube.
Bitcoin is allowing us to regain control over our financial future.
Sure, the volatility can be nerve-wracking, but it offers so much promise, it really is a shame when a few rogue agents try to piggy-back on the technology and brand-awareness to rip people off.
Especially, when you consider that if you'd just held on to your Bitcoin for another 5 to 10 years, you could have potentially realized the type of returns promised by BitConnect anyway!
Sometimes all it takes is a little patience.