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An Ethereum Startup Just Vanished After People Invested $374K (vice.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the gone-with-the-wind dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Motherboard: A startup on the Ethereum platform vanished from the internet on Sunday after raising $374,000 USD from investors in an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) fundraiser. Confido is a startup that pitched itself as a blockchain-based app for making payments and tracking shipments. It sold digital tokens to investors over the Ethereum blockchain in an ICO that ran from November 6 to 8. During the token sale, Confido sold people bespoke digital tokens that represent their investment in exchange for ether, Ethereum's digital currency. But on Sunday, the company unceremoniously deleted its Twitter account and took down its website. A company representative posted a brief comment to the company's now-private subforum on Reddit, citing legal problems that prevent the Confido team from continuing their work. The same message was also posted to Medium but quickly deleted.

"Right now, we are in a tight spot, as we are having legal trouble caused by a contract we signed," the message stated (a cached version of the Medium post is viewable). "It is likely that we will be able to find a solution to rectify the situation. However, we cannot assure you with 100% certainty that we will get through this." The message was apparently written by Confido's founder, one Joost van Doorn, who seems to have no internet presence besides a now-removed LinkedIn profile. Even the Confido representative on Reddit doesn't seem to know what's going on, though, posting hours after the initial message, "Look I have absolutely no idea what has happened here. The removal of all of our social media platforms and website has come as a complete surprise to me." Confido tokens had a market cap of $10 million last week, before the company disappeared, but now the tokens are worthless. And investors are crying foul.

103 of 190 comments (clear)

  1. Another ICO, another SCAM. by Kremmy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is the track record of the Initial Coin Offering. And people keep putting money into them.

    1. Re:Another ICO, another SCAM. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      There's a sucker born every minute.

      It was true 150 years ago, it's true today.

    2. Re:Another ICO, another SCAM. by HornWumpus · · Score: 5, Insightful

      A fool and their money, were lucky to get together in the first place.

      It is an immoral act to let a sucker keep his money.

      Good for confido...Confido? They had 'confidence game' right in their name folks.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    3. Re:Another ICO, another SCAM. by Lab+Rat+Jason · · Score: 3, Funny

      I think "I've got a coinbase to sell you" will emerge as the new "I've got a bridge in brooklyn to sell you"

      --
      Which has more power: the hammer, or the anvil?
    4. Re:Another ICO, another SCAM. by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 3, Interesting

      This is the track record of the Initial Coin Offering. And people keep putting money into them.

      Based on historical precedent, the third and largest collapse of a scammy ICO will be the pin that pops the cryptocurrency bubble.

    5. Re:Another ICO, another SCAM. by darthsilun · · Score: 1

      It's like 1980 in Los Angeles and Pyramid Parties all over again.

      At least in 1980 you could see if there was anyone behind you in line to get in.

    6. Re:Another ICO, another SCAM. by hambone142 · · Score: 1

      I guess the money went in to ether :-)

      I get a kick of millennials that invest in cryptocurrency.

      I guess it's time to learn.

    7. Re:Another ICO, another SCAM. by sysrammer · · Score: 1

      ^^^ Ditto. Van Douche was probably represented by Dewey, Cheatam, and Howe LLP.

      --
      His ignorance covered the whole earth like a blanket, and there was hardly a hole in it anywhere. - Mark Twain
    8. Re:Another ICO, another SCAM. by Adeptus_Luminati · · Score: 1

      Considering Crypto has exploded in return on investment, the suckers are those that show up too late to the game. Bitcoin has been up and running for 9 years with explosive price gains... when did you buy again? Oh you missed out? Bitter? That explains it.

      --
      No trees were killed in the making of this post; however, many trillions of electrons were horribly inconvenienced.
    9. Re:Another ICO, another SCAM. by houstonbofh · · Score: 1

      I guess the money went in to ether :-)

      I get a kick of millennials that invest in cryptocurrency.

      I guess it's time to learn.

      Because only millennials make poor money decisions? Because only block chain businesses fail? Or did you just block Enron from your mind? Bernie Madoff? Charles Ponzi?

    10. Re:Another ICO, another SCAM. by houstonbofh · · Score: 1

      Because when most startups failed, that stopped venture capitalism...

    11. Re:Another ICO, another SCAM. by rtb61 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Bitcoin is in for a hell of a ride. Big money vulture capitalist have statistically analysed there is sufficient real money around bitcoin to harvest by purposefully hugely fluctuating the price of bit coin. UP, down, UP, down, UP, down, always milking cash out of the fools in the cycle, it is going to be really cruel. They will keep riding bitcoin until the kill it, little money does not stand a chance against big money, in a ponzi play like bitcoin, it's price as has been demonstrated can be all too readily pumped or dumped.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    12. Re:Another ICO, another SCAM. by mnemotronic · · Score: 1

      *bad thing happens* "THIS IS EXACTLY LIKE TRUMP!!"

      I'm confused. Over a hundred responses and this is the ONLY mention of whatzis name. At least there's a helpful reference to obsessive thought patterns. That helps indicate one AC with OCPD.

      --
      The Russians have won. They have made the world a cesspool of distrust, greed, fear and hate.
    13. Re: Another ICO, another SCAM. by The+Cynical+Critic · · Score: 1

      Only way to kill bitcoin at this point is by somehow figuring out a way to kill the global trade in narcotics, unlicensed firearms, fake documents and all the other contraband bitcoin has become the go-to currency for... When just about all of stuff that's bought using bitcoin is illegal making bitcoin itself illegal isn't really going to do anything except inconvenience the people using it to buy and sell narcotics, etc.

      --
      "Why should I want to make anything up? Life's bad enough as it is without wanting to invent any more of it."
    14. Re:Another ICO, another SCAM. by Wootery · · Score: 1

      Not so - the sucker birth-rate has been increasing roughly exponentially.

    15. Re: Another ICO, another SCAM. by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      That might pop the ethereum bubble, but I think bitcoin is here to stay.

      The blockchain basically has one use: cryptocurrency. Any other use and you're probably just getting sucked into a scam.

      Except that the blockchain as implemented in BTC is not scaling. Transaction times are stretching into days and open-market transaction fees are now greater than many small transactions, all besides the basic problem of limited money supply. It has already failed as a currency.

    16. Re: Another ICO, another SCAM. by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1929...

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    17. Re:Another ICO, another SCAM. by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      What "stopped" VC is simply that there is nothing worthwhile left to invest in.

      You see, investors want to see a ROI. That can only happen, of course, if the business you invest in can actually, well, do business. And for this you need customers. And customers are rare, considering that all the money is neatly tucked away on the supply side. There is simply no demand, at least by no means enough to warrant VCing in some new businesses.

      So those VCs and their load of surplus money were looking for something to pump that money into. Something where a sensible ROI is still to be had.

      Now ponder for a moment what this could possibly be.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    18. Re:Another ICO, another SCAM. by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      But this isn't a pyramid scheme. It's more a trapezoid.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    19. Re:Another ICO, another SCAM. by ctilsie242 · · Score: 1

      Every generation has its tulips. In the '80s, it was Cabbage Patch Kids. The 1990s brought Pogs and .com 1.0 companies (pets.com, flooz, beenz.)

      What we are going to see is cryptocurrencies hyped up, a nasty collapse happen, then they will go back to a sane level and wind up a useful way of doing value exchanges once the "ooo, shiny" aspect is gone. Cryptocurrencies are a good concept, but because the shysters are back (a lot of them fled when Mt. Gox fell flat), it is something to stay away from for now.

      I also don't see anything wrong with an ICO, provided the currency has undergone some scrutiny and has something it can bring to the table that is noticeably better than Ethereum or BitCoin (not having to run through the entire blockchain to validate a transaction, a way of doing anonymity similar to a Chaumian currency, some way of protecting against 51% attacks, etc.) However, with all the cryptocurrencies out there, it would have to be extremely unique and innovative to be worth investors' time.

    20. Re: Another ICO, another SCAM. by ctilsie242 · · Score: 1

      BitCoin is becoming pretty unwieldy with the time to process transactions. Even with taking shortcuts, the time it takes is taking steadily longer to process (days in some instances), the blockchain is getting a lot larger, around 145 gigs, and the concern about existing issues like the 51%+ mining bloc.

      BitCoin is a great "version 2.0" cryptocurrency, with "version 1.0" being Chaum's DigiCash. What is needed is a "version 3.0" currency that has some way to keep one group from getting to the 51% mark, some anonymity like the blinding factor in Chaum's currency, ease of mining, various escrow/signature methods, a way to only have to parse a subset of the blockchain and not worry about being double-spent, ability to have older transactions be archived from the blockchain to save space, a mechanism to have exponentially more blocks added when needed, so the amount of energy it takes to mine a coin stays about the same, and perhaps have the upper bound of coins be related to how many coins are in use.

    21. Re:Another ICO, another SCAM. by kilfarsnar · · Score: 1

      Considering Crypto has exploded in return on investment, the suckers are those that show up too late to the game. Bitcoin has been up and running for 9 years with explosive price gains... when did you buy again? Oh you missed out? Bitter? That explains it.

      I'd be curious to know how many people have actually cached out their bitcoin to realize their gain. It's one thing to have $100,000 worth of bitcoin, and another to have that $100,000 in your bank account.

      --
      "What the American public doesn't know is what makes them the American public." -Ray Zalinsky (Tommy Boy)
    22. Re:Another ICO, another SCAM. by kilfarsnar · · Score: 1

      *bad thing happens* "THIS IS EXACTLY LIKE TRUMP!!"

      https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/two-minute-shrink/201006/taming-obsessive-thoughts

      Well, to be fair, he does bear a striking resemblance to many bad things.

      --
      "What the American public doesn't know is what makes them the American public." -Ray Zalinsky (Tommy Boy)
    23. Re:Another ICO, another SCAM. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It is also immoral to take money from people via fraud. Anyone who pretends taking money from suckers is moral, is a greedy piece of shit themselves and also doesn't deserve any money.

    24. Re:Another ICO, another SCAM. by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      A sucker will be separated from his/her money. It's just a question of who/when.

      By definition: the highest utility is for me to get it.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    25. Re:Another ICO, another SCAM. by mysidia · · Score: 1

      It is an immoral act to let a sucker keep his money.

      Then how come we have government assistance programs?
      If it's an immoral act to let a sucker keep their money, then it's EVEN MORE IMMORTAL to have laws
      that forcibly take money from non-suckers and then reward it to Able-Bodied people who are probably mostly
      suckers Or are of the same mentality (couldn't even find/plan/execute on a way to earn a decent living.....)

      Also, why don't we do the responsible thing and detect the suckers' and re-allocate their money to a good cause?
      Proposition: Re-Legalize standard internet gambling with a regulated rate of profit; this should draw the ICO "investors" back to gambling ,
      and have essentially a 45% government tax on each bet.

          In other words: you bet $1000 on blackjack --- your cumulative total is a $1000 loss, the house starts with $1000, but has to pay the gov't $450 in betting taxes on their winnings from your bets and gets to keep $550.

          If you bet $1000 on blackjack and your cumulative winnings across the games are $1000 --- you get $550, because the casino is allowed to withhold your $450 bet tax from winnings, and then you go home and pay income tax on the $550.

    26. Re: Another ICO, another SCAM. by damn_registrars · · Score: 1

      Where are my mod points when I need them :D

      Save 'em. You have just witnessed roman_mir karma whoring with his sock puppet. Use mod points on comments that actually deserve to be moderated up instead.

      --
      Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
    27. Re: Another ICO, another SCAM. by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 2

      Isn't the limited money supply one of the features? posting AC because I modded people.

      Mathematically limited money supply was intended to make Bitcoin immune to inflation. This worked; since BTC was invented, the algorithm has never been cracked and the money supply has been asymptotically edging toward the limit of 21 million coins as new coin is mined.

      What the Bitcoiners failed to realize is that if you hold the supply of a money constant, it loses its value as a neutral medium of exchange because people perceive it as becoming more valuable with time. It gets hoarded, and this is what is happening with Bitcoin. When BYC first went on the air, coins were priced low and people rushed to buy things with them. Now people buy BTC only in hopes that they can sell it for more later.

      Real national currencies are managed by central banks whose job it is to keep the money supply growing at ideally the same rate at which the sum of all goods the currency can be traded for grows. Because currencies are political, there is a general tendency to print a little more each year than the value of goods has actually grown. This is called inflation, and so long as the percentage change each year stays small, people will use the currency to buy things with but are not motivated to hoard it.

      Look at the history of gold. Gold has always enjoyed value because the amount of it grows only very slowly with new mining and there is no low-value simulant that has the same density and was available in the times when gold was used as everyday money. In ancient and medieval times, gold could be used directly as money because the good it traded for had the same total value year after year. But as soon as the Enlightenment and the Industrial revolution started increasing the value of traded goods, those goods in trade drove gold out of circulation by making gold a hoarded commodity. Countries began printing fiat money for everyday transactions. Today gold holds its value and with monetary inflation increases in value relative to fiat monies - it is hoarded. Bitcoin is just an attempt to recreate gold as a digital medium.

    28. Re:Another ICO, another SCAM. by darthsilun · · Score: 1

      Pyramid Parties

      I also wrote like, which means similar, but not the same.

  2. Scammed by mysidia · · Score: 2, Informative

    Sorry.... you weren't acting like investors if you bought ICO tokens that don't even represent legal shares of a business with so little information and so little in the way of business documentation and personal guarantees OR audited financials, and you should have been more careful.

    That's just a good ol' fashioned scam; let the ICO buyer beware.

    1. Re:Scammed by The+Cynical+Critic · · Score: 1

      When the guy the main character in The Wolf of Wall Street was based on says something is scummier than anything he ever pulled, you know that thing is very suspect and any money invested in it should probably be considered forfeit.

      --
      "Why should I want to make anything up? Life's bad enough as it is without wanting to invent any more of it."
    2. Re:Scammed by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      There were as much investors as kickstarter backers are VCs.

      But people like being called something that's associated with being rich and knowing how to invest, so...

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    3. Re:Scammed by mysidia · · Score: 1

      There were as much investors as kickstarter backers are VCs.

      At least the kickstarter listings aren't the sale of Unregistered Securities like most ICOs are,
      and with kickstarter there's a certain level of disclosure and professionallism required to get a listing approved,
      and finally the expected "return" is for a small token prize, Not an implication that buyers will profit in some manner
      proportionately related to what the management's business results are.

  3. I got burned by 110010001000 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I invested in it and got burned. That hurts since i only make $50,000 in IT in Silicon Valley. I guess lesson learned - don't invest in startups that you don't know.

    1. Re:I got burned by mcmonkey · · Score: 2

      What research did you do into Confido before you "invested"? The main people involved, what successful businesses have they run in the past? What in their background led you to believe they would provide a return in this case?

      And ICOs in general, I've heard plenty about how much the folks running these ICOs are pulling in. What's the history on the people on the other end? What sort of return have "investors" had in the past?

    2. Re:I got burned by vux984 · · Score: 1

      Yeah, the tipoff was the "I make 50,000 in IT in Silicon valley" which is a bit of a meme around here...

    3. Re:I got burned by slew · · Score: 1

      I invested in it and got burned. That hurts since i only make $50,000 in IT in Silicon Valley. I guess lesson learned - don't invest in startups that you don't know.

      You learned the wrong lesson then...
      Clearly, you should have learned that the way to get rich in Silicon Valley is to start your own company and have others that you don't know invest in your startup...

    4. Re:I got burned by Kenja · · Score: 1

      Wrong lesson. What you should have learned is "don't invest money you can't afford to lose, period."

      --

      "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
    5. Re:I got burned by Holi · · Score: 1

      How about don't invest in cryptocoins when the founder has only a linkedin page as an online presence.

      --
      Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
    6. Re:I got burned by jeremyp · · Score: 2

      No. If you can't afford to lose the money, do not invest in start ups at all. Start ups are inherently very risky - even when they are not scams. Most of the time, you will lose your money.

      --
      All I want is a secure system where it's easy to do anything I want. Is that too much to ask ~~ Randall Munroe
  4. Not learning? by duke_cheetah2003 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    People not learning that crypto currency is a frickin' scam. No sympathy.

    1. Re:Not learning? by Hognoxious · · Score: 2

      Shocked, shocked I am!

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    2. Re:Not learning? by Gussington · · Score: 1

      People not learning that crypto currency is a frickin' scam. No sympathy.

      Email is also a scam, as are telephones.. and people! All scams, every one of them. If anyone ever scammed someone using something then that thing is a scam. No doubt.

  5. It's in the name! by santiago · · Score: 3, Insightful

    So, Confido was a Confidence Game? The name even means "I trust" in several Romance languages...

  6. Oh no! by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

    Ponzi scheme makes some people rich by taking money from "investors"
    More news at 11.

    1. Re:Oh no! by magarity · · Score: 2

      To qualify as a Ponzi scheme they would need to pay off at least one round of investors with capital from a second round.

    2. Re:Oh no! by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

      Fine... Scam makes some people rich by taking money from "investors"

  7. Ha ha ha. by mcmonkey · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "The message was apparently written by Confido's founder, one Joost van Doorn, who seems to have no internet presence besides a now-removed LinkedIn profile."

    Founder of internet-based currency, has no internet presence to speak of. Yeah, "Joost van Doorn" doesn't exist.

    When people do so little due diligence or research, we can't really call it investing. People gave their money away. People can cry foul or whatever all they want. That money is gone.

    We're really getting into the territory where it is legitimate to ask, how did people so gullible acquire anything of value in the first place?

    1. Re:Ha ha ha. by rahvin112 · · Score: 1

      Make no mistake, Mr. fake van Doorn is going to get caught. People that steal real money like this without connections and money behind them are doomed to get caught and go to jail. The SEC started the initial paperwork to start going after these ICO scammers and they don't' screw around, they ruin your life, send you to jail and then let the IRS have their way with you.

      In the end you've got nothing but a sore ass for thinking you can outwit the people with unlimited resources to find you and the money is always traceable unless you are rich enough and connected enough to bounce it off a dozen banks in unregulated jurisdictions to launder it.

    2. Re:Ha ha ha. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Well, if you are a capable individual nothing is setup in your name to begin with, and the money goes off-shore and becomes untraceable through other means. The person they "catch" is the person whose name everything was setup under, the fall guy, and not you. I mean after all if you are so capable of conning people into shit then why not start with conning some dumb fuck to be the CEO of your little scam?

    3. Re:Ha ha ha. by war4peace · · Score: 1

      He would go to jail based on what?

      --
      ...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
    4. Re:Ha ha ha. by Kjella · · Score: 2

      We're really getting into the territory where it is legitimate to ask, how did people so gullible acquire anything of value in the first place?

      They sucker in a few that are always looking to make lots of fast money through professional appearances and fancy business plans. Then you make those people pimp the system to their friends, that's what sells most people. A bunch of my friends got ripped off in some MLM scam some years back, it'd entered my clique of friends through one person who then became two, those two convinced a third and... the more friends are in on it, the harder it gets to say you're all wrong. Hell, even afterwards some simply tried to say it was just a risk investment and they lost.

      Humans are terrible at backing out of a bad idea when they've first committed to it, try watching newbies in poker that fall in love with their hand. Not betting a poor hand is easy. Betting a good hand that turns bad then fold, that's hard. It's why some projects run into ridiculous overruns, it's always 10-20% more to finish and those add up to double or triple the initial budget. It's how the Nigerian prince scams work, as long as people feel there's the small chance that those millions of dollars are right around the corner or over the next hilltop they'll put in a few more dollars and then a few more and then even more.

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    5. Re:Ha ha ha. by Aristos+Mazer · · Score: 1

      Who says he/she/it has no connections and money behind them?

    6. Re: Ha ha ha. by jeremyp · · Score: 1

      Asking people to invest money for a new business and then pocketing it is fraud. Specifically, it is embezzlement.

      No question about it.

      --
      All I want is a secure system where it's easy to do anything I want. Is that too much to ask ~~ Randall Munroe
    7. Re:Ha ha ha. by DCFusor · · Score: 1

      They didn't steal enough to stay out of jail, yup. Go big - Corzine for example - or go to jail.
      Only relatively small potatoes get busted. You gotta get billions at least to buy continued freedom.

      --
      Why guess when you can know? Measure!
    8. Re:Ha ha ha. by stephanruby · · Score: 1

      Yeah, "Joost van Doorn" doesn't exist.

      I agree. It's probably a made-up name.

      But if anyone wants to investigate, that name sounds Dutch or white South African. And if you're going to make up a name, you might as well pick one that would already fit your family history.

    9. Re:Ha ha ha. by iggymanz · · Score: 1

      make no mistake, less than 15 percent of fraudsters get caught.

    10. Re: Ha ha ha. by burtosis · · Score: 1

      You would be amazed how not true your statement is. You have to prove criminal intent; collusion, signing moronic agreements, and waste (triple points for that waste benefiting a subsidiary you own) are perfectly legal ways to take investor money and run a company into the ground. Good luck suing in court, because even if you somehow win, and even if that amount is more than your legal fees, you still have to somehow get that judgement paid, and as a pleeb your odds of getting paid are zero.

    11. Re: Ha ha ha. by Pulzar · · Score: 1

      Good luck suing in court, because even if you somehow win, and even if that amount is more than your legal fees, you still have to somehow get that judgement paid, and as a pleeb your odds of getting paid are zero.

      Nobody is getting the money, sure, but this is still a crime that the government can prosecute and send the guy to jail.

      --
      Never underestimate the bandwidth of a 747 filled with CD-ROMs.
    12. Re: Ha ha ha. by jezwel · · Score: 1

      Nobody is getting the money, sure, but this is still a crime that the government can prosecute and send the guy to jail.

      How 'bout: the contract that is causing issues is the one where the now-missing founder was paid a salary of $375,000+ per quarter and the company has ran out of money and is being sued by him as it owes him backpay.
      No crimes there.

    13. Re:Ha ha ha. by Computershack · · Score: 2

      Make no mistake, Mr. fake van Doorn is going to get caught. People that steal real money like this without connections and money behind them are doomed to get caught and go to jail. The SEC started the initial paperwork to start going after these ICO scammers and they don't' screw around, they ruin your life, send you to jail and then let the IRS have their way with you.

      That is assuming he is in the USA. If he isn't then the SEC and IRS can stamp their feet all they want and they can't do a damned thing about it.

      --
      I only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't looking good either. - Scott Adams
    14. Re:Ha ha ha. by houghi · · Score: 1

      It is a standard Dutch name. Both the "Joost" part as the "van Doorn" part. So I would assume that it is somebody in The Netherlands who used it to make a fake name or at least knowledge of The Netherlands.

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    15. Re: Ha ha ha. by tomtomtom · · Score: 1

      Taking investors' money and squandering it by trying to do what you promised but failing badly is one thing (although even that can rise to the level of criminal liability in some instances e.g. trading whilst insolvent, insider trading or Securities Act/Sarbanes-Oxley type stuff).

      But deliberately pocketing the money and running (which is what GP suggested)? That's plain old fraud, been going on for centuries and it gets prosecuted successfully every week.

    16. Re: Ha ha ha. by burtosis · · Score: 1

      Hahahahaha. You live in a fantasy world. Your chances of getting even a civil judgement for breaking "fiduciary responsibility" are zero. I've even been involved in a case where a startup signed a moronic agreement incurring millions in obligations to a contract manufacturer, and lied about this debt during an investment round in the official finnancial disclosure. When the company went belly up two years later, due to this debt, investors sued over this. However, the special prosecutor appointed by the company said a tiny text only document, explaining these secret details, would have been made available to any investors who actually put in money that round and asked for it(in reality this was typed up after the fact). This and a dozen more shady dealings were completely exonerated. 80k in, with the full case looking like a 1 million dollar legal bill for a full class action suit, odds of winning very low, and with no actual money being obtainable even with a win, and with criminal charges being a farce that would never happen because courts are pro corruption, it was dropped and the 3M investment among those suing was just written off. I should have had a clue when in a city of several million people it was nearly impossible to find a law firm because literally the first 20 all had conflicts with these rich asshats. When you have money and connections you can break all the laws you want and it's nearly a zero chance of any, even minor, consequences.

  8. But the good news is... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The founders of the PerpetualMotionem and FasterThanLighteum coin projects, both based on highly sophisticated mathematics, are still taking investments.

  9. Well, they were buying "ether"... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    "Confido sold people bespoke digital tokens that represent their investment in exchange for ether..."

    It sounds like the investors got exactly what they paid for.

  10. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  11. Madoff, anyone? by OneHundredAndTen · · Score: 1

    The people who scammed by Madoff got scammed because they were greedy. Same deal here.

    1. Re:Madoff, anyone? by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      He got away with it because investors thought he was 'their criminal'. They all assumed he was trading on insider information. They all knew he was crooked, just not in what way.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  12. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  13. The lessons... by martinX · · Score: 1

    This is beyond gambling, beyond speculation. This is into "wishing well" territory.

    For some it may be a good lesson cheaply purchased. Some... not so cheaply.

    Maybe they should take a look at something like this.

    --
    When they came for the communists, I said "He's next door. Take him away. Goddam commies."
  14. Re:DIY Cryptocurrency Mining... by originalGMC · · Score: 2

    Climate change is real, the earth is heating up and dumbfucks sending a nuclear reactor worth of power for e-Monopoly money are the cause.

    I seriously lol'd at this. Just imagine a BTC farm being powered by a coal fired power plant ..... hah! They are the problem!
    Seriously though, if you spend $15000 on a mining rig, how much time / energy to mine 3 btc? Does the energy bill compare against running a heater to warm your house, as opposed to using the mining rig as the heater? Lastly, can I get one or two of your 1080ti cards you're wasting on monopoly money to run my games?

  15. Re:DIY Cryptocurrency Mining... by magarity · · Score: 2

    To heck with bitcoins; that rig will get me some serious SETI@Home points!

  16. Re:What did you expect with a name like that? by CanadianMacFan · · Score: 5, Funny

    They bought ether and then complain when it disappeared into thin air!

  17. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  18. "Invested"? by Trailer+Trash · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    Yeah, "invested". In quotes.

    That's a nice word for it.

    --
    Do you have ESP?
  19. Play stupid games; win stupid prizes. by Pezbian · · Score: 1

    There's inherent risk in everything. Investing means you are banking your money on making money off the back of someone else. Can't bitch too hard when it goes wrong since "that's just business". I still don't condone it, though.

    --
    In a world of the blind, the one-eyed man is king--and the two-eyed man is a heretic.
  20. Re:What did you expect with a name like that? by war4peace · · Score: 1

    Doorn, not Doom.
    DOORN.

    --
    ...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
  21. "ICO"s explained in one picture by ffkom · · Score: 1

    http://cache.lovethispic.com/u...

  22. Put your money into something safe. by theendlessnow · · Score: 1

    Put your money into something safe, like manned steam rocketry.

  23. Take the money and run by manu0601 · · Score: 1

    We know a startup management technique is "take the money and run", but all that mess for just 374,000 USD? Real business leaders do not risk jail for so little money.

  24. Re:Been there, done that. by Adeptus_Luminati · · Score: 1

    Except this "fad" has been up and running for 9 years and has hundreds of bluechip companies (IBM, Intel, HP, Microsoft, Cisco, and top 100 banks globally) hiring and training entire departments on the technology. Ya you will be the late majority at best. Enjoy buying Bitcoin at $100,000 per unit.

    --
    No trees were killed in the making of this post; however, many trillions of electrons were horribly inconvenienced.
  25. Re:But Cryptocoins are better than the stock marke by Adeptus_Luminati · · Score: 1

    Oh no in a $230 BILLION dollar market we find $374K of fraud... let me do the math on that... oh right... 0.00016%. In other words one thousand of one percent of Crypto is a scam. Ok let's multiply that by 10 just cuz there have been a few other scams. One one hundred of 1% is a scam. Hmmm... sounds a bit better than WallStreet no?

    I'll take my chances with Crypto than JP Morgan, Goldman and other FlashBoys scaming all your manipulated stock market. See you when Crypto hits $5 Trillion.

    --
    No trees were killed in the making of this post; however, many trillions of electrons were horribly inconvenienced.
  26. Doom by mattr · · Score: 1

    Does Joost have a PhD? I would think twice before giving money to a shady character named Doom, but that's just me.

  27. Re:DIY Cryptocurrency Mining... by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

    Compared to the millions of fuckers who use their PS4 and XBox One to stream Netflix, crypto-mining is nothing but a little blip on the radar.

    --
    #DeleteFacebook
  28. Joost van Doorn by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

    Are we sure it's his name? Could be a typo, maybe his name is Joost van Doom .

    --
    #DeleteFacebook
  29. Con fido by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 1

    They had 'confidence game' right in their name folks.

    Yes, but to be fair it does sound like they were aiming to con dogs rather than humans.

  30. Regulated ICOs to the rescue by quax · · Score: 1

    There's actually a first regulator approved ICO underway in North America right now, in Ontario.

    I.e. the same regulatory body that oversees the largest Canadian stock exchange approved this ICO.

    The goal is to create a platform that allows further ICOs with oversight and investor protection.

    This means on this kind of platform a company couldn't just vanish and run away with the funds. (At least not any more than any publicly traded company can).

    DISCLAIMER: I don't work for TokenFunder.com, but contemplate to invest.

  31. Re: Been there, done that. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    You are delusional as hell. The only person in this thread sticking up for his scam.

    All those people you mentioned, are investing in the BLOcKCHAIN. They aren't investing in Bitcoin you dolt. No one is going to buy Bitcoin to purchase stuff. No one. Why would they? It makes 0 sense to use bitcoins unless you are 1) selling drugs 2) ransomware 3) criminals

  32. Freedom... by VeryFluffyBunny · · Score: 1

    ...from regulation and accountability. Yes, that's how cryptocurrencies are supposed to work and why they're so popular with drug dealers, human traffickers, and the like. This is just the beginning; wait until Goldman Sachs comes up with its version of a cryptocurrency ponzi scheme. The tax payer will have to foot the bill for that one.

    --
    Debate is a form of harassment. Do not question my truth.
  33. Re:But Cryptocoins are better than the stock marke by Luthair · · Score: 1

    Going to call bullshit... a 230 billion dollar market is one that has that value in a single year.

  34. ICOs are scams by slashmydots · · Score: 2

    In the BTC community, we regard anyone who buys into ICOs as complete and utter morons.

    1. Re:ICOs are scams by Xyrus · · Score: 1

      In the internet community, we regard anyone who buys into BTC complete and utter morons. But hey, it's your money. You can buy all the tulip bulbs you want.

      --
      ~X~
    2. Re:ICOs are scams by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Thanks - I did years ago and my couple hundred is now $90K. I'm such a fool! Please tell me how I can become more like you.

    3. Re:ICOs are scams by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Ah, you got out of tulip bulbs before the bubble burst. Assuming, of course, that you have cashed out and have an actual $90K rather than BTC that might possibly be worth $90K that you're going to hold on to.

      Ponzi schemes can be rewarding investments if you get in on the ground floor.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  35. STAN BUCKS by Mats+Svensson · · Score: 1

    It's Money!

  36. P. T. Barnum by luis_a_espinal · · Score: 1

    There's a sucker burn every minute.

  37. How to make $374,000 without really trying! by Hallux-F-Sinister · · Score: 1

    How to make $374,000 without really trying!

    1. Set up imaginary thing with alleged value.
    2. Find greedy dolts with more money than sense.
    3. ...
    4. Profit!

    I guess 3 was "Shut down all your social media stuff, go dark, disappear with money citing legal problems with a contract," the modern equivalent of 'the dog ate my homework' in today's phony world.

    I'm sure glad I had no money invested in this crypto-pyramid-scheme.

    --
    Our reign has gone on long enough. Indeed. Summon the meteors.
  38. Hang Them High by JimSadler · · Score: 1

    Crime has so many ways of costing us all money that it is vital that these people are caught and serve life ruining sentences. As a simple example riding bicycles produces all kinds of benefits for all of us. It frees up parking spaces. It reduces pollution. It improves the health of the riders and thus keeps medical expenses down for the community. So maybe you've got a cheap bike that gets swiped. How harsh should the sentencing be? Keep in mind that you are forced to carry keys, purchase cables and locks and that many people do not use bicycles due to the locking and unlocking rituals that get so very frustrating. And by the way more murders occur during bicycle thefts than in bank robberies. So would it be unreasonable to put a first offender in prison for 15 or 20 years? Isn't that just a simple message that if you do wrong society may really crush you? When I was a youth any arrest for use or possession of any illegal drug was pretty much a life ender. The consequence was that in the suburbs there was almost no drug use at all among school kids. The state stepped away from radical punishments and a flood of drug related issues among kids quickly appeared. In Florida we had a reform school in Marianna Florida that tortured, sexually violated and often murdered teen inmates. They are still digging up the bodies of these missing youth who the authorities simply claimed that they escaped and vanished. Teens would actually say they didn't want to go to Marianna when others asked them to get involved in some sort of crimes. I am aware that rabid justice is sort of a sick idea but the catch is that it worked.

  39. Re:But Cryptocoins are better than the stock marke by Luthair · · Score: 1

    Market cap and market are two different things, market cap is the value of all outstanding shares, a market of $X needs to turn over $X a year. Further, since bitcoin is supposedly a currency market cap is not the correct term either,

  40. Re:Joke is funny but... by war4peace · · Score: 1

    Dude. I know. I'm Romanian :)
    It was a joke.

    --
    ...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
  41. Re:DIY Cryptocurrency Mining... by Lost+Race · · Score: 1

    Does the energy bill compare against running a heater to warm your house, as opposed to using the mining rig as the heater?

    Resistive heating (e.g. a bitcoin miner) gives ~1W of heat per 1W of electricity. A heat pump gives ~3W of heat per 1W of electricity.

    Burning fuel locally for heat is much more efficient than burning it in a remote power plant, converting the heat to electricity, then transporting the electricity and converting it back to heat.

  42. Well gee... by ShamblerBishop · · Score: 1

    Who would have guessed? I'm shocked - shocked I tell you! - that's put me right off my Weetabix, what ever will I do...all those poor investors, who would ever have thought an innocent cryptocurrency could do something like this? That it might be...*shock*...a f.f.f...fraud? *puts arm to head and feints like a girl*

    Oh the humanity! I hear Bob Geldof will do a concert for the victims :( :/ (god it's pointless, there isn't even a sad smiley that's sad enough for things like this...)