Real fake scam offers crypto-coin to replace frequent flier points The United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) ongoing efforts to crimp dodgy cryptocurrency dealings has seen it create a fake initial coin offering that, ironically, lures the credulous with an offer to replace one weird pseudo-currency – loyalty scheme points – with cryptocurrency. howeycoins.com claims to …
I'm all in favor of the SEC actually regulating the scam-filled Wild West that is "the market." I'd encourage them to do more. As the article notes, the loyalty points are a "pseudo-currency," and the rules, such as they are, favor the issuer far more than the recipient. It would be nice to see some adjustment in that area, but that is asking a bit much from a Republican Congress and from a President who has dabbled in scams himself from time to time.
"that is asking a bit much from a Republican Congress and from a President who has dabbled in scams himself from time to time"
There have been loyalty points programmes going for many years during Democrat-controlled Congresses, as well as 16 years of Clinton and Obama administrations. In none of those years did the SEC take similar actions against corporations issuing these pseudocurrencies. That is, the SEC treated these programmes the same way regardless of politics, which if it is inadequate it is also at least properly consistent. So I'd just say it would be asking a bit much to want enforcement here. Period. And if I said that, I'd not only be laying blame where it belongs (i.e., the law, the SEC, all parties, lobbyists, the corporations that employ them) but I also wouldn't sound like a partisan troll. Something to consider the next time you post.
Bitcoin seemed like such a good idea - with a few obvious problems, which may or may not have been solveable (eg preventing tax evasion). In the good ol' days, it was a replacement currency which could not be controlled by corrupt governments.
And then - like everything from fiat currencies to houses - it was corrupted by investors and venture capitalists. Starting with Etherium, what began as a form of fully-democratic money, almost a digital version of a pre-market barter economy, became instead yet another investment opportunity, creating bubbles and speculation which is ruining (has ruined?) it for the ordinary folks it was intended for.
In response to the frequent news headline "Should I invest in cryptocurrency", I offer the answer: NO. It is a currency, not an investment. Its purpose is for interpersonal trade, not speculative profit. "The Markets" have no business getting their corrupt, grubby paws on it.
But people have said that about houses for decades now - they should be homes, not investments - and nobody has taken any notice. I don't hold out much hope.
I think Bitcoin demonstrates the biggest problem with cryptocurrency: anything that gets popular can clog its network with transactions, causing transaction fees to skyrocket to the point where it's no longer a viable currency and just a vehicle for speculation. Altcoins address this issue by processing more frequently and using bigger blocksizes, but time will tell how much any network can handle.
"HoweyCoins will partner with ..."
That doesn't look much like a bitcoin. That's a description of a wannabe new player to compete with Nectar. Or, going back a bit further, Green Shield Stamps.
Now when you say Frequent Flyer points, that started life as a pure-bred scam: bribes for employees to spend their employers' money.
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