There is Only ONE Bitcoin ALTCOINS are NOT Bitcoin
IMPORTANT
Most people have heard about Bitcoin by now.
You may have also heard about other coins or cryptocurrencies OR altcoins. Yes, they exist but they are NOT BITCOIN. They don't have the same features, they aren't decentralized and many were created by smart people to take your money and turn it into Bitcoin for them. See, to BUY Alts (also referred to as shitcoins) you use Bitcoin. Now you own an ALTCOIN aka SHITCOIN and they have your Bitcoin. It's complicated. It makes it easy to say whatever you want about what you (altcoin maker) are doing.
Something else. Some of these altcoins are like sports teams. They have FAN bases who will try to talk or bully you into things. Most of the talk is because prices are WAY down on these shitcoins and they are stuck holding the bag and want to convince you that their invest is real and it's not over. Getting people to buy could move that price.
The bottom line is, these are like stocks from companies who HAVE NO INCOME. Maybe a few will survive long term but I wouldn't count on it OR think this is something I'd be buying for future generations.
If someone says any of these phrases to you? RUN SCREAMING FROM THEM.
- You know Bitcoin? It's JUST LIKE THAT.
- This is like Bitcoin but even BETTER.
- Bitcoin is old news and falling apart.
- This is cheaper and will be worth WAY MORE one day.
- Bitcoin uses too much energy this coin is going to be better.
- You've missed out on Bitcoin already this is cheaper and will go up too.
- Bitcoin is too hard, this coin is for the people.
- They are just jealous Bitcoiners (I swear they say this) this is the real thing.
There are a few other things you need to know. There are 2 "coins" one is called Bitcoin CASH (they are who owns Bitcoin.COM when the original Bitcoin website is Bitcoin.ORG) Then another called Bitcoin SV. Bitcoin SV has been delisted by most exchanges so it's tough to buy (thankfully) but Bitcoin Cash or BCH is still being sold. I'm calling these two out specifically because their names are so close to Bitcoin.
Below I'm going to link to different scams as I find them and learn about them. You will want to be aware for yourself and to help anyone else who is interesting in Bitcoin.
Bitcoin Scams
Bitcoin is technical. So much so that many don't know how it works. This makes it easy to fool others in whatever story you tell about this newest latest and greatest. NONE of the altcoins were here before Bitcoin. It's that simple. In 11 years there have been many attempts to make the public believe they have a viable project. Viable projects are creating and making money. Many promise ICO's or Initial Coin Offerings, a little like buying a stock prior to it being on the market, an IPO. Except a stock is based on a business and model that is making money. For the most part. (There are never any absolutes)
The Missing CryptoQueen
This scam is about a coin named ONECOIN or ONE-COIN. A very smart con artist went outside the world of Bitcoin and went after people and convinced them to promote it to THEIR friends and family. They paid everyone in this "coin" with no value UNLESS you brought in new victims. Then you'd get 60% in dollars and 40% in "crapcoin". Over 3 million people have been duped so far. When I say duped, I mean out of at least 5 BILLION dollars so far. (it's also possible it's between 5B-15B) It isn't your average run of the mill scam, it's even got it's own podcast now. I would recommend listening. Understand what humans are willing to do when it comes to money and greed. Over 3 MILLION PEOPLE fell for this. I'm quite sure they don't want it to happen to anyone else. For some reason, possibly because it's widespread and across countries, no one has stopped this. It's a multi-level marketing scam and Ponzi scheme.
Listen to the BBC Podcast HERE it tells the whole story.
Peter McCormack with Jaime Barlett on What Bitcoin Did Podcast - Jaime did the investigation and this is a must listen.
I will continue to link scams on this page.
From Bitcoin.org
The original site for Bitcoin. .ORG not .COM. The most common scams involving Bitcoin are listed.
They describe scams like free giveaways, fake exchanges where you can supposedly buy Bitcoin, Pyramid schemes, fake coins and more.
Click here for more info
Bitcoin Scams
When money is involved, things you'd never expect happen. Scams aren't always premeditated but may happen over time IF someone is losing their money or lost it.
It's great to accumulate Bitcoin. Sometimes people think they can trade Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies to make Bitcoin. This is HARD. If you aren't a trader? You aren't going to waltz in and start trading Bitcoin. It's taken me a long time to decide who to follow on Youtube.com or Twitter for Bitcoin. I'm not following for trading advice, but many I consider experts, trade too. This is the wild west. Take your time in deciding who to listen to.
Experts who have followings? Scammers can steal THEIR identities and then you think you are following someone you trusted and they may be using other people's knowledge to sell their own stuff or to take money from someone else's audience.
For example. This is Ugly Old Goat. He had a friend, he thought. Then he found out, his name was being used to take money from "students". So he sold a class, saying it was based on Ugly Old Goat's knowledge and created by him. This isn't, wasn't true. Below is a video that explains the entire situation. So if you are in the market to take some classes on trading Bitcoin, take your time and really make sure they are decent and might know what they are talking about. Not everyone is going to like everyone. BUT not everyone is going to scam everyone. If you want to pay for something with Bitcoin? Make sure you know who you are paying and for what. There are a LOT of amazing incredible people in this space. Sometimes, all it takes is a couple of bad apples. Also keep an eye out for this type of scam. People can change their names easily and start scamming again.
Scam Warning - Don't Do This With Kestutis