5 ms·

The most honest Ponzi scheme of all time

194 points by binarnosp 9y ago

kemyd 9y ago
This is obviously an April Fools' Day joke, but it shows what is wrong with crypto-backed projects (ICO's etc)
- if_by_whisky 9y ago
  I don't understand. Can you break it down a little more?
- azeirah 9y ago
  April Fools' Day joke or not, a project exactly like this one existed way before today. https://ponzicoin.co/home.html https://ponzicoin.co/home.html
  - FlailFast 9y ago
    And the one I made before the project you mention: https://ponzico.win https://ponzico.win The real fun is the whitepaper (some of my better work): https://ponzico.win/ponzico.pdf https://ponzico.win/ponzico.pdf But yeah, PonzICOs are turtles all the way down.
    - NetOpWibby 9y ago
      That whitepaper is damn good.
      - FlailFast 9y ago
        Thank you, truly! Satire is my passion, and whenever folks enjoy my work I feel a deep sense of pride.
        username223 9y ago
        Follow your dream -- the world needs satire now more than ever. (Though I would prefer [twocolumn].)
    - dorgo 9y ago
      Now I see the value behind smart contracts. It is much easier to set up a Ponzi scheme. No need to keep track of all the investors and who owns what.
  - bdcravens 9y ago
    I think Ponzi.io lasted about 1day about 3 years ago (it was real, but I think the coins were refunded)
saintPirelli 9y ago
I love the roadmap!
binarnosp 9y ago
> If you're working for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission you can contact me by dedicated email address: no-reply@ponzischeme.io
lostmsu 9y ago
Meh, there was one in Russia 2y ago. Called MMM 2.0. MMM 1.0 was also Ponzi, but not honest. So the guy behind them got prosecuted for MMM 1.0, finished his sentence and then did 2.0 honestly.
- jacobush 9y ago
  Was it exactly two years ago, 1 April? :-)
  - lostmsu 9y ago
    No, it was not :(
bitwize 9y ago
This reminds me of the time I was approached to join a multi-level marketing scam affiliated with Transamerica. Their contact phone number was 1-800-PYRAMID. I was like "Well, at least they're up front about it and put it right there in the phone number."
mjcohen 9y ago
Aside from being an April Fool's joke, the site is very hard to read, especially the "contract".
aberatiu 9y ago
view source also
- lucb1e 9y ago
  For your convenience, this is what it says on top:
leroy_masochist 9y ago
"Want to join our marketing team? Tweet about us!" Funny and profound
- snoman 9y ago
  Of everything on the page, this was particularly clever.
- iser 9y ago
  i just joined their marketing team
tobyhinloopen 9y ago
10/10 would invest
- r3bl 9y ago
  Well, invest! Seriously, there's more hidden gems in the webpage when you try to invest.
matte_black 9y ago
I wouldn’t mind investing in an honest ponzi scheme as long as honesty tapered off over time as the number of people joining grow, and there’s no restriction on when you can pull out. I would have loved the super charged returns in Bernie Madoff’s early days.
- jrochkind1 9y ago
  I suppose any greedy person wouldn't mind "investing" in a Ponzi scheme at the point you can still make bank on it. And of course all ponzi scheme have such a phase, that's how they work.
kerng 9y ago
What is so great about this is that in today's age anyone can create a great looking website, appear professional and really pull off things like this. Use fancy job titles, like Second Layer Expert (lol) and invent a bunch of other nonsense that sounds innovative and disruptive, as well of course publish the code to be open. It's a great prank, unfortunately backed by too many real world cases that do exactly that, and make people lose money.
- dandare 9y ago
  > ...anyone can create a great looking website... The last time I tried to design and code a landing page myself it took me way more time than expected and the website ended up looking like shit. It is not easy as people think. (Or I am a noob, that is also an option.)
  - djangowithme 9y ago
    There are great templates available for $15. Anyone with basic html skills can download one and change the values between html tags. I'm assuming you tried to make one yourself, which in fact is tough and would require multiple people to pull off.
  - saintPirelli 9y ago
    I think this is referring to WordPress-themes and other "design your website without coding"-offers.
- hannasanarion 9y ago
  And yet my mom's favorite conspiracy blogs still look straight outa 2002
  - redblacktree 9y ago
    Adds to the authenticity.
duxup 9y ago
90% return... amateurs!
dalbasal 9y ago
This is great. So many little touches. Have a look at the licensee agreement. https://ponzischeme.io/images/rules.gif https://ponzischeme.io/images/rules.gif Elon?
fbonetti 9y ago
I know this is a joke, but there are numerous real life Ponzi and pyramid schemes based on Ethereum smart contracts. PonziCoin, PoWH3D, and EthPhoenix transparently advertise themselves as Ponzi/pyramid schemes. There's also a whole genre of "hot potato" collectible games that operate like pyramid schemes. CryptoCelebrities and CryptoKitties are a couple well known games in this genre. Personally, I don't think there's anything unethical about transparent pyramid schemes. They're essentially gambling games where players bet on the greed of other players. The greediest players end up "holding the bag" while every one else makes money. These games can be pretty profitable if you play conservatively.
- frgtpsswrdlame 9y ago
  >The greediest players end up "holding the bag" while every one else makes money. Bag holders aren't the greediest players they're the last players. >These games can be pretty profitable if you play conservatively. Huh? How exactly do you play ponzi schemes conservatively?
  - mieseratte 9y ago
    > Huh? How exactly do you play ponzi schemes conservatively? Get in and out quickly taking the, presumably higher-than-normal, ROI with you. Typically with ponzi schemes, folks put in and keep their money in to compound because, on paper, they have insane ROIs. Their greed blinds them to the "too good to be true." Still, Ponzi schemes do payout to some amount of people, those who pull out before it is too late. None of this is to say you won't be left holding the bag, but if you're an "in-and-out" player you have a better chance of not being the one left holding the bag compared to those who see fake numbers and let greed wash over them.
  - Hunisgung 9y ago
    > How exactly do you play ponzi schemes conservatively? You find a bunch of greater fools to play with. But then you are back into scamming territory.
- saudioger 9y ago
  > PonziCoin When I first heard about ponzicoin I thought for sure it was a joke. But not only did someone swindle people out of money the first time around, but someone also managed to do it again under the same name.
jrochkind1 9y ago
Turns out, Ponzi schemes are illegal even if they are honest about it.

194 points by binarnosp 9y ago

kemyd 9y ago

This is obviously an April Fools' Day joke, but it shows what is wrong with crypto-backed projects (ICO's etc)

if_by_whisky 9y ago
I don't understand. Can you break it down a little more?
azeirah 9y ago
April Fools' Day joke or not, a project exactly like this one existed way before today. https://ponzicoin.co/home.html https://ponzicoin.co/home.html
- FlailFast 9y ago
  And the one I made before the project you mention: https://ponzico.win https://ponzico.win The real fun is the whitepaper (some of my better work): https://ponzico.win/ponzico.pdf https://ponzico.win/ponzico.pdf But yeah, PonzICOs are turtles all the way down.
  - NetOpWibby 9y ago
    That whitepaper is damn good.
    - FlailFast 9y ago
      Thank you, truly! Satire is my passion, and whenever folks enjoy my work I feel a deep sense of pride.
      - username223 9y ago
        Follow your dream -- the world needs satire now more than ever. (Though I would prefer [twocolumn].)
  - dorgo 9y ago
    Now I see the value behind smart contracts. It is much easier to set up a Ponzi scheme. No need to keep track of all the investors and who owns what.
- bdcravens 9y ago
  I think Ponzi.io lasted about 1day about 3 years ago (it was real, but I think the coins were refunded)

saintPirelli 9y ago

I love the roadmap!

binarnosp 9y ago

> If you're working for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission you can contact me by dedicated email address: no-reply@ponzischeme.io

lostmsu 9y ago

Meh, there was one in Russia 2y ago. Called MMM 2.0. MMM 1.0 was also Ponzi, but not honest. So the guy behind them got prosecuted for MMM 1.0, finished his sentence and then did 2.0 honestly.

jacobush 9y ago
Was it exactly two years ago, 1 April? :-)
- lostmsu 9y ago
  No, it was not :(

bitwize 9y ago

This reminds me of the time I was approached to join a multi-level marketing scam affiliated with Transamerica. Their contact phone number was 1-800-PYRAMID. I was like "Well, at least they're up front about it and put it right there in the phone number."

mjcohen 9y ago

Aside from being an April Fool's joke, the site is very hard to read, especially the "contract".

aberatiu 9y ago

view source also

lucb1e 9y ago
For your convenience, this is what it says on top:

leroy_masochist 9y ago

"Want to join our marketing team? Tweet about us!" Funny and profound

snoman 9y ago
Of everything on the page, this was particularly clever.
iser 9y ago
i just joined their marketing team

tobyhinloopen 9y ago

10/10 would invest

r3bl 9y ago
Well, invest! Seriously, there's more hidden gems in the webpage when you try to invest.

matte_black 9y ago

I wouldn’t mind investing in an honest ponzi scheme as long as honesty tapered off over time as the number of people joining grow, and there’s no restriction on when you can pull out. I would have loved the super charged returns in Bernie Madoff’s early days.

jrochkind1 9y ago
I suppose any greedy person wouldn't mind "investing" in a Ponzi scheme at the point you can still make bank on it. And of course all ponzi scheme have such a phase, that's how they work.

kerng 9y ago

What is so great about this is that in today's age anyone can create a great looking website, appear professional and really pull off things like this. Use fancy job titles, like Second Layer Expert (lol) and invent a bunch of other nonsense that sounds innovative and disruptive, as well of course publish the code to be open. It's a great prank, unfortunately backed by too many real world cases that do exactly that, and make people lose money.

dandare 9y ago
> ...anyone can create a great looking website... The last time I tried to design and code a landing page myself it took me way more time than expected and the website ended up looking like shit. It is not easy as people think. (Or I am a noob, that is also an option.)
- djangowithme 9y ago
  There are great templates available for $15. Anyone with basic html skills can download one and change the values between html tags. I'm assuming you tried to make one yourself, which in fact is tough and would require multiple people to pull off.
- saintPirelli 9y ago
  I think this is referring to WordPress-themes and other "design your website without coding"-offers.
hannasanarion 9y ago
And yet my mom's favorite conspiracy blogs still look straight outa 2002
- redblacktree 9y ago
  Adds to the authenticity.

duxup 9y ago

90% return... amateurs!

dalbasal 9y ago

This is great. So many little touches. Have a look at the licensee agreement. https://ponzischeme.io/images/rules.gif https://ponzischeme.io/images/rules.gif Elon?

fbonetti 9y ago

I know this is a joke, but there are numerous real life Ponzi and pyramid schemes based on Ethereum smart contracts. PonziCoin, PoWH3D, and EthPhoenix transparently advertise themselves as Ponzi/pyramid schemes. There's also a whole genre of "hot potato" collectible games that operate like pyramid schemes. CryptoCelebrities and CryptoKitties are a couple well known games in this genre. Personally, I don't think there's anything unethical about transparent pyramid schemes. They're essentially gambling games where players bet on the greed of other players. The greediest players end up "holding the bag" while every one else makes money. These games can be pretty profitable if you play conservatively.

frgtpsswrdlame 9y ago
>The greediest players end up "holding the bag" while every one else makes money. Bag holders aren't the greediest players they're the last players. >These games can be pretty profitable if you play conservatively. Huh? How exactly do you play ponzi schemes conservatively?
- mieseratte 9y ago
  > Huh? How exactly do you play ponzi schemes conservatively? Get in and out quickly taking the, presumably higher-than-normal, ROI with you. Typically with ponzi schemes, folks put in and keep their money in to compound because, on paper, they have insane ROIs. Their greed blinds them to the "too good to be true." Still, Ponzi schemes do payout to some amount of people, those who pull out before it is too late. None of this is to say you won't be left holding the bag, but if you're an "in-and-out" player you have a better chance of not being the one left holding the bag compared to those who see fake numbers and let greed wash over them.
- Hunisgung 9y ago
  > How exactly do you play ponzi schemes conservatively? You find a bunch of greater fools to play with. But then you are back into scamming territory.
saudioger 9y ago
> PonziCoin When I first heard about ponzicoin I thought for sure it was a joke. But not only did someone swindle people out of money the first time around, but someone also managed to do it again under the same name.

jrochkind1 9y ago

Turns out, Ponzi schemes are illegal even if they are honest about it.