By CCN: In 2016 a cryptocurrency project named BitConnect came along offering 1% daily compounded interest for those who purchased and staked its token.
When the BitConnect (BCC) bubble inevitably burst, the owners, as expected, made off everyone’s money. The BCC token price sunk by 99.9%, and a previously $2.5 billion valued project became worthless.
Now, the greatest scam ever sold is back. Enter BitConnect 2.0.
Hey, Hey, Hey: BitConnect 2.0 Arrives for a Second Bite at the Cherry
A website and Twitter profile advertising the arrival of BitConnect 2.0 appeared in the last few days. The website shows a countdown to the rebirth of one of the worst cryptocurrency scams of all time.
The Twitter profile contains just two posts – one is a link to the new website; and the other is a Binance referral link with the directive ‘Buy Now’.
Of course, there are no BitConnect tokens (either 1.0 or 2.0) hosted on Binance. If we take a look at the domain registrar details for the new website – BitConnect.io – we see some strange peculiarities.
Despite the Twitter post promising a July 1st launch, the website’s domain name is set to expire two weeks before that date. The domain, which differs slightly from the original BitConnect.co website, was registered in 2017.
Scamception: A Scam Inside a Scam
All of this adds up to what looks like a scam inside a scam. Assuming the site domain isn’t renewed before the expiration on June 19th, then perhaps what we have here isn’t BitConnect 2.0 at all.
Rather, it appears someone with an old domain name is attempting to squeeze as much money out of their Binance referral link as possible before the site expires. The Twitter profile shows almost 1,000 followers already, despite the first post not appearing until one day ago. However, the new website is also registered in the same geographic location as the original – Panama.
One person who was able to see the funny side of the BitConnect revival was former BCC front-man, Carlos Matos. Famous for his exuberant and dramatic on-stage sale pitch, Matos continues to post memes about the BitConnect saga. Recently he revived his infamous ‘Hey, Hey, Hey…’ slogan to comment on BitConnect 2.0; which he apparently has no part in.
Matos even posted this meme expressing a skeptical take on the project’s revival.
Too Late for Skepticism
Ultimately, the same skepticism would have been useful several years ago, before gullible investors were taken for all they had. From the ICO price of $0.17, the value of BCC tokens shot up to $509.99 in one year – marking ridiculous gains of 299,894%.
Of course, those gains were never cashed out. When the exit scam hit in January 2018, the value of BCC dropped like a stone. Data for the token price continued to be tracked up until August 2018, when it held a value of just $0.263786, before being removed from all exchanges.