Kiara had graduated a month ago from high school. Before her family became rich, about four years ago, she thought that her destiny after that would be to go to university to study some useful career, as an economy, perhaps, which would allow her to "become someone". However, now that they were fabulously wealthy, after his father's idea of creating a network of online real estate sellers paid off, he had given him $ 10,000 and said, "You can go to college, buy a car, go partying, or invest. "
Since her father had invested the inheritance her grandfather had left her in her now successful business, Kiara had chosen to follow the last path. However, a month after graduation, he still had not decided exactly what to invest. I had found out some things about the famous stock exchange, but I felt that I would enter a rather dark and stark world, where inexperience could cost everything I invested. Ten thousand dollars, on the other hand, was also very little to invest in things like real estate. Maybe I could start a small - very small - business of something, like a restaurant, or try to develop some totally new product ... although I did not know which one.
And so she remained, indecisive, until her friend Beto gave her the idea.
- GlobeCoin! -It said excited one day that they were having a coffee-. Invest them all in GlobeCoin, Kiara.
- What the hell is GlobeCoin ...?
- A unique investment opportunity, Alberto recited with the index raised, seriously, to laugh later. Well, that's what promoters say all the time. You know, a little advertising does not hurt. But, seriously, it has been very good for me. So much that ... -she bowed confidentially to her- remember that car you wanted? Well, I almost bought it.
- Do not play - she was surprised, looking at him incredulously- And why did not you say anything?
- Well ... the truth is that I wanted to surprise you with the car - he shrugged his shoulders -. But as I see you do not know what to do with your dad's gift ...
- And what's that thing about?
- It's a cryptocurrency. Have you heard of bitcoin, right?
Kiara frowned.
- ... Are you sure it's legal?
Alberto clicked his tongue.
Yes woman. That is, bitcoin is suspicious and is used by hackers because it is anonymous, but GlobeCoin is something else. It uses the same new bitcoin technology, but it is controlled by qualified administrators, such as in a bank. They have a care center and are approved by the Financial Affairs Agency. They even gave them a prize in Russia and they are agreeing an alliance with Microsoft.
Wow ...
Aha, Alberto agreed enthusiastically.
And what is there to do? That is, how do you win? Do you buy your shares, as in the Stock Exchange?
Nope Actually, it's very easy: after the initial investment, you are looking for more people to join. The more people you have sought to invest, the more you win.
Kiara laughed.Do not play, Beto! That sounds like Plantflife!
Hey. It's just one of the ways to win while they toss the coin. Because what you do with the initial investment is to buy your right to investment classes and a certain amount of coins, which are increasing in value over time and investors. I already have 2000 tokens, for example, that I bought each one very, very cheap. But when it's the launch, the price is going to shoot. It is estimated that each token will be worth at least 60 dollars. So I will win about 4 or even 6 times what I invested. And that just to begin with.
The girl looked at him skeptically.
- That sounds too good to be true, right?
- Can be. But that's what happened with bitcoin, you know? Many became rich only because they bought when it was worth very little. And if that happened with a currency that is not backed by any law or company ... now imagine one that is.
She was silent, looking at the last remnants of foam in her cup.
- Well, it's not obligatory. You can think about it and then you see. I'll pass the page and the tutorial.
He nodded.
In the end, he ended up investing a little and attending the meetings. GlobeCoin tried to serve its investors very well, and every fifteen days it organized a new meeting, both for learning for the new ones and for more advanced knowledge about cryptocurrencies for the most experienced.
Kiara would lie if she said she was not getting excited. I had already learned that most cryptocurrencies were "decentralized" and anonymous, which made them susceptible to being used by criminals. GlobeCoin, on the other hand, was backed by a well-known team of professionals who were doing everything possible to comply with the laws.
Our team is not anonymous nor does it call itself "FluffyPony", for example ... -explained one of the moderators once, causing the class to laugh.
And his investment would serve to develop the necessary platform, with state-of-the-art technology, in which the tokens that already belonged to him would be issued.
GlobeCoin was not only making an alliance with Microsoft, but also with hundreds of stores around the world that would accept it as a payment method. That would also increase its value ...
But there was something that was bothering her. Lately, a boy, who was always accompanied by a very silent middle-aged gentleman (his father, perhaps), did not stop interrupting classes with many questions.
Will GlobeCoin be based on the Ethereum blockchain or will it have its own blockchain?
They had already explained that a "blockchain" or chain of blocks was the platform that issued the currency. For all he knew, Ethereum was one of those unregulated blockchain, so why was he asking that?
- It will have its own blockchain, of course - replied the moderator.
- Aha, but then GlobeCoin is not like an ICO even, right? Tokens do not exist anywhere. They do not have an intelligent contract to exist afterwards, either.
It was the first time he heard the terms ICO and smart contract. He frowned, looking at the moderator, who seemed to be a bit confused.
- ... No, GlobeCoin is not an ICO. But the tokens do exist, at the moment they are backed by the company while the chain of blocks is launched ...
- But how is it possible that they exist without the chain of blocks?
- Well, that's because these tokens are not like Ethereum or Bitcoin.
- Sure, they do not exist ...
- Yes they do. "She smiled. Only that the company keeps them on a private platform before migrating them to the new blockchain.
- Ah ... -he did not seem very convinced, but quite the opposite- And in the new blockchain we can all see the transactions, right?
The moderator denied.
- It will be a private blockchain. We want to protect the privacy of our investors.
- So it will be a blockchain totally controlled by you?
- So is. That way it will be really legal and safe, unlike the others.
- I understand. "The boy sat down.
But the questions did not stop at the following meetings. From which exact establishments were willing to accept GlobeCoin until the ... algorithm? with which the blockchain would work. For what the hell would anyone want to know that? It was a computer thing, right? Not the investors.
At the end of one of the classes in which Beto did not accompany him, he decided to approach him to find out why he was so insistent with the questions. He talked to the silent gentleman in whispers ... or rather it seemed they were arguing.
It gave him some embarrassment to interrupt, but curiosity won him over.
- Sorry…
They fell silent immediately and turned to see her.
- Hello. You're Ivan, right?
- Yes. And you are ...?
"I'm Kiara." He held out his hand and he shook it briefly. If you do not mind ... I wanted to ask you something.
The boy exchanged a meaningful look with the Lord.
- I'll wait for you in the car - that was the first time you heard him speak.
When he walked away, he smiled at Ivan to try to break the ice.
- He is your father?
- What? No. "He let out a snort of laughter. He is a friend. Well, what did you want to ask me?
- Is that you always have something to object to this and ... I was wondering why. It's like nothing convinces you, so ... why are you still here?
He raised an eyebrow.
- You do not have to answer if you do not want to, he hastened to add. It's just curiosity.
He looked thoughtful for a few seconds before nodding.
- Since you're the only one who asked me ... do you have time for a coffee?
That night she came home feeling terribly disappointed. His parents had left, so he had room to go up to his room in silence without anyone asking him about his bad face.
"There is a 95% chance that GlobeCoin is a scam," Ivan had said in the afternoon.
Of course, his first reaction had been to not believe him. But with everything he had told him and all the articles not only from Wikipedia, but from official government pages, which he had taught him, he had almost no choice but to trust his word.
As Beto had told him long ago, many became millionaires with Bitcoin at the time. But Bitcoin was something new. While it was mixing existing technologies, it had never occurred to anyone before to create a decentralized digital currency that did not depend on governments. And, above all, no one had expected much from Bitcoin. Nobody had made promises or asked for initial investments to develop anything: their success had been a surprise.
In addition, its characteristics did not make it illegal, nor anonymous, by the way. Anyone could see in real time every transaction of bitcoins made in all history, with dates and amounts. And although not everyone, it was possible to trace the origin and identity of someone after a transaction. In case of suspicious movements, the authorities could do so even with the blockchain, which recorded each movement.
Almost unnoticed, without any advertising, Bitcoin was gaining more and more popularity, being adopted by businesses around the world. Some authorities had already decided to regulate its use in certain countries, taxing or not, but it was rather rare that it was prohibited. Bitcoin was considered a "product", mostly, although it was used as a means of payment.
The rest of the cryptocurrencies had arrived later. And most pursued the ideal of decentralization because that would allow users to have more control of their own finances, without depending on banks, governments ... or companies.
He snorted with mockery, lying on his bed. In a decentralized cryptocurrency, administrators could not "cheat", could not hide transactions and, above all, did not usually request an initial investment, unless it was an Initial Currency Offer, the famous ICO. No. In reality, those who knew how to use them, used them without promises of exuberant returns. They knew that they could lose everything they invested, in addition, because the cryptocurrencies were very volatile, and the products offered by the ICO did not always come to fruition ... in fact, most of them failed.
Among all those cryptocurrencies had been strained, through time, which Ivan had called "scamcoins." They were like false cryptocurrencies, where an initial investment was usually requested with the promise of getting the tokens later, and in the meantime they used to give rewards for getting more investors, building a sort of pyramid scheme where the new ones ended up paying the interests of the older ones.
In this type of scamcoins, which ICO also used to offer, administrators described alliances that had never been made, legal documents that they did not possess and promised the moon while "developing their platform", when the truth was that they were cheating all the unsuspecting They fell on the lip.
GlobeCoin was probably the most famous of the scamcoins, according to the bitcoiners. He had so many operations around the globe as warnings from different authorities in tow, but for some reason there were always gulls who were still there, willing to buy an imaginary token that had no value or ever have it. Just because the offer was too tempting, "a unique investment opportunity ..." Ha!
It was fortunate that he had not thrown all his money on it ... He frowned. Now that he thought about it ... if Ivan was so sure he was a scamcoin, why the hell was he still going to the meetings? Would it be blogger or something? I had completely forgotten to ask after the disappointment ...
He snorted again and decided to get up to find the sweater that his mother had woven, because it was getting cold. When he did not find it in the closet, he remembered that he had left it in his father's study.
He got there, turned on the light and, in fact, saw him on the couch. Although back he looked sideways, on the desk, something that caught his attention. Something very familiar.
He approached and noticed with surprise that one of the folders had a leaf with the logo of GlobeCoin. It paled. Your father would not be thinking about investing family assets in that, right ...?
She reached out to take the sheet and see what it was about, but just then a voice stopped her.
- Kiarita!
He looked up at the door, where his father was entering. Soon he received the hug of greeting; wrapped in that green shirt that had always seemed horrible but that was her father's favorite.
- What are you doing around here, daughter? His father wondered. I thought my humble studio was too cold and boring for you.
He smiled
- I left the sweater - he moved a sleeve.
- Oh ...
- Dad, that ... -he looked at the desk and then at him- What do you plan with GlobeCoin?
He looked at her with surprise.
- Do you know GlobeCoin, Kiara?
She pouted, undecided. He had planned to talk to him about it once it had been a total success, but ... that would not be possible. Now, he was embarrassed to confess that he had fallen like a lamb. Although, if he too was going to fall, he had to warn him.
- Well ... it's a kind of cryptocurrency, right? Beto is investing and he told me about it, "he decided to explain. But I heard it's a scam. So do not even think about investing, huh? He smiled.
His father smiled back.
- Bravo, that's my business woman, hm? And nothing, it's a booklet that a friend passed me. Nor did it generate confidence, but it seems that it is becoming very popular.
- Yes ... very popular ...
- And you? Have you already decided what you are going to invest in? He took her by the shoulders and started leading her to the door. Mom and I brought pizza. You can tell us during dinner.
- Eh, I have not decided yet ...
- But some option you'll have, right?
- Maybe some ...
Of course, he had warned Beto about what Ivan had told him. And he had passed all the necessary links, disappointing him too. He decided not to go to the meetings anymore, even though he had access to what he had already paid for. That of trying to unmask them was left to Ivan ... because that was probably why he was still attending, right?
However, he kept wondering about that question. Or maybe it would be the desire to help him a little. After all, if they were unmasked, maybe he would get his money back. So he went back to the meetings.
To his surprise, in the first did not run into Ivan, but was commissioned this time to ask all the questions that GlobeCoin could not answer, planting the seed of doubt, from within, other investors. He wondered if Ivan had given up or was now attacking them in the distance, writing and publishing on the Internet. He regretted not asking if he was a blogger, so he could read it and share.
The third meeting he attended after his particular disappointment took the surprise of his life when not only Ivan but three policemen broke into the class, urging everyone to stay still. Ivan wore the uniform as well. And he turned to see his eyes bulging when he noticed that he was looking at him.
He smiled at him
- Oh, but it's little Kiara. I thought I had convinced you.
- You're a cop!? He snapped.
- Hey, yeah, something like that. He too. He's my partner. "He pointed to the" silent gentleman "of the past meetings, who barely nodded in his direction.
Then they proceeded to tell the civilians to wait there, while they were taking a terrified moderator outside.
- What's going on? She asked scared herself.
- We got an arrest warrant, Ivan explained.
But immediately they called them and only one remained watching the group of investors. While he was very distracted answering questions and trying to reassure them, she took the opportunity to sneak out.
Ivan was a policeman! They were going to arrest someone ...! Ok, but to whom? According to the moderators, yes, the founder of GlobeCoin, Reina Iguarán, with I do not know how many doctorates (from Oxford, in England?), Important positions (in Germany?) And multilingual; he was from that country (although apparently, for some reason, he had graduated in England and then worked in Germany). But she had never seen his hair. He supposed he would be somewhere abroad, hiding, spreading "the word" or spending his money on pina coladas ...
I was looking for Ivan to see if he could find out the whole story, or at least a little more, when he looked down the hall, out, and saw him, standing next to his partner in a column. But that was not what left her frozen in the doorway.
Who was getting out of one of the elevators, handcuffed and escorted by two policemen, in the direction of the patrols, was not a woman. He was a middle-aged man, brown and chubby. Wearing a horrible green shirt
- Surprised, huh? -he could barely turn to see Ivan, who smiled at him, at his side, while she felt that he was listening through a tunnel- Iguarán is a scarecrow, Kiara. It's just the face and an unreal curriculum to present GlobeCoin. The true founder is the one you see there. We have been gathering evidence against him and, finally, after a joint effort with cops from other countries, we caught the very unhappy. It took four years, but we did it.
He sighed, satisfied, watching as they put him in the patrol.
- You came back to the meetings to find this out, right ...? He frowned as he turned from the man to her. "Kiara, are you okay? You are pale ...
- ... I was washing the money with real estate ... "he whispered.
- Wow! How did you know that?
He raised a trembling hand to his mouth as his eyes melted and the world fell on him.
"And nothing, it's a brochure that a friend passed on to me. It did not generate confidence either, but it seems that it is becoming very popular. "
Yes ... very popular ... everything went dark while fainting.
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. The names, personages, companies, organizations, places, events or facts that appear in the same one are product of the imagination of the author or they are used in the frame of the fiction. Any resemblance to people (alive or dead) or real events is purely coincidental.
courtesy of www.criptonoticias.com