Wednesday, November 22nd 2017
Ethereum Startup Confido Vanishes, Scams Users in $375K After ICO
ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings) are one of the most important facets of Ethereum, responsible for propelling the cryptocurrency's value to its values of today. These are the cryptocurrency equivalents of community-backed investments and startups - not unlike Kickstarter, but based solely in the crypto world. Demand for Ethereum usually sees vast increases in volume after a promising ICO goes live (or in preparation for it), and is one of the premier channels for value to be chained towards this cryptocurrency. However, as is usually the case - and one needs only look towards Kickstarter as an example of this - there are both success and disaster stories to be met in this space.
Case in point of a disaster, Ethereum startup Confido has recently made headlines both for its $375K ICO, and after it surfaced that the entire initial coin offering was nothing more than a scam. Confido claimed to be a blockchain-based app for making payments and tracking shipments, and as is usual in ICOs, it sold digital tokens to investors over the Ethereum blockchain in an ICO that ran from November 6 to 8. Last Sunday, the company started erasing all marks of its short, profitable foray into the ICO world: it 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 as well as Medium, citing legal problems that prevent the Confido team from continuing their work.
"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," wrote Confido's self-proclaimed founder, Joost van Doorn, whose only presence in the Internet, via is LinkedIn account, has since seen deletion as well.
Confido tokens, which had a market cap of $10 million just last week, are now worthless. TokenLot, a website that specializes in enabling startups to put out their ICOs, is really the only hope of resolution for the investors. "We're the only remnant online right now in terms of people contacting us asking for answers," said Eli Lewitt, co-founder of TokenLot, to Motherboard.vice over the phone. "These were very good scammers."
Sources:
Motherboard.vice, TrustNodes
Case in point of a disaster, Ethereum startup Confido has recently made headlines both for its $375K ICO, and after it surfaced that the entire initial coin offering was nothing more than a scam. Confido claimed to be a blockchain-based app for making payments and tracking shipments, and as is usual in ICOs, it sold digital tokens to investors over the Ethereum blockchain in an ICO that ran from November 6 to 8. Last Sunday, the company started erasing all marks of its short, profitable foray into the ICO world: it 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 as well as Medium, citing legal problems that prevent the Confido team from continuing their work.
24 Comments on Ethereum Startup Confido Vanishes, Scams Users in $375K After ICO
I wouldn't use it as evidence that all cryptocurrency is a scam though. Bitcoin and to a smaller degree Ethereum and Litecoin, are well-entrenched enough that we can confidently say they are legit. That's not to say Bitcoin couldn't drop to $500 tomorrow because of all of the speculators, but the currency itself is legit. You can pay with Bitcoin lots of places nowadays; Subway, Expedia, Microsoft, Newegg, Dish Network, etc. I suspect Amazon isn't too far off. And that's without converting it to cash which is quite easy and then you can indirectly use it anywhere.
Kinda make me feel like a jerk. I'm over it now though.
It's even worse when people attack Ethereum because it's one of the few coins out there actively trying to eliminate PoW, or in other words, eliminate mining.There's a lot of power and wealth behind Crypto now too. It's approaching a very large number.How so? You can spend it as freely as the next guy.
to what your GPU power is used (or any other mean to mine CC) .... breaking block and popping V$ out of them? but what are these block .... assuredly not WU for something "noble" like BOINC/F@H WU ....
sooooo what are you doing when you mine? of course, they won't tell you ... at last not the real explanation ...
You are effectively hashbreaking. It's like trying the combination to a big tressure chest repeatedly millions of times per second until someone gets it right. There is no way of hiding this, it's well known and has been for some time.
to quote a post i saw at random while searching a bit more on CC
"or could you create a (hopefully fictional) crypto currency that is explicitly designed to pay users for cracking passwords?"
All these currencies started off as meaningless tokens. The only thing that makes them worth anything is investor money and public interest.
There is a big red flag as soon someone say "hey we need money for uh, making an app that we have just made posters/art about, thx."
Not to say it's not overvalued, mind.