See below the result of an analysis
Smart Energy Pay (SEP): No Blockchain, No Coin, Just a Token1. The Performance Promise of Smart Energy Pay (SEP)The Smart Energy Pay (SEP) corporate group claims to have created a revolutionary connection between the energy industry and modern financial technology. The core element of the business model is the alleged development and operation of its own, independent blockchain – the so-called "Smart Energy Chain" – and the cryptocurrency SEP as a native coin. Based on this technology, SEP promotes a series of products and services:
A native "coin": At the center is the "SEP Coin," which is supposed to function as the native payment method of this blockchain. This implies a proprietary technical infrastructure, similar to Bitcoin (BTC) or Ether (ETH).
"Smart Banking" and ISO 20022 compatibility: SEP promises a cutting-edge banking solution that is supposed to support international payment standards like ISO 20022. This standard will be mandatory for international payments (e.g., SWIFT) starting in November 2025 and represents a standardized, secure, and interoperable data exchange between financial institutions. This claim suggests that SEP has a recognized and regulated payment infrastructure.
Trading platforms and wallet: The ecosystem is rounded out with a dedicated wallet app and the listing of the SEP Coin on the trading platform XT.com, which gives the appearance of liquidity and market acceptance.
SEP's communication is directly targeted at investors and suggests a technologically advanced and future-proof investment in a regulated financial product.
This investigation has verified the technical and economic foundations of these claims using publicly accessible websites and platforms.
Websites related to SEP: SEP:
https://smartenergypay.com Blockchain:
https://smartenergychain.org Chain Explorer:
https://secexplorer.io Wind Device:
https://smart-energy.tech Banking page:
https://smartenergypays.io 2. Summary of the Investigation Results and Core AllegationThe technical, economic, and corporate structural analysis of the SEP ecosystem leads to a clear result: The public portrayal by SEP and the verifiable facts fundamentally differ. The central performance promises of the company lack any technical and regulatory foundation.
The core finding of this investigation is: The "Smart Energy Chain" as an independent, functioning blockchain does not exist.
All elements intended to give the impression of such infrastructure – a block explorer, a registered chain ID, an RPC server, and wallet integration – turn out, upon closer technical inspection, to be simulations or empty facades. The asset promoted as a "coin" is in fact a so-called BEP-20 token issued on the public BNB Chain (formerly Binance Smart Chain) and dependent on its infrastructure.
This fundamental misrepresentation has far-reaching consequences for all other promises made by the company, from ISO 20022 compatibility to general tradability and value retention of the token. The inconsistencies found in the corporate structure and the analysis of a predecessor project called "Smart Energy Token (SET)" reinforce the suspicion that this could be a deliberately designed system to deceive investors.
3. Technical Analysis: The Fiction of the "Smart Energy Chain"The claim of having its own blockchain is the cornerstone of SEP marketing. The following points demonstrate why this claim is untrue.
3.1. The True Nature of SEP: A BEP-20 Token on the BNB ChainInstead of a coin on its own blockchain, SEP is a token on the BNB Chain. A direct comparison of the same contract address on the real BNB Chain Explorer and SEP's fake explorer exposes the deception:
• The only active SEP smart contract is publicly visible on the BNB Chain's block explorer, BscScan, showing transaction history:
https://bscscan.com/token/0x2a653e8d85bd7dd17272b020d53c183de936a58e • On SEP's supposed own explorer, the same contract address is listed. However, no transaction data or block references are displayed – the page is inactive:
https://secexplorer.io/address/0x2a653e8d85bd7dd17272b020d53c183de936a58e The fact that the contract is active on the BNB Chain but shows no activity in the "own" explorer is proof that no native SEP blockchain is being operated. The address was merely mirrored to create a facade of legitimacy.
3.2. The Fake Explorer: secexplorer.ioSEP presents a supposed block explorer for the "Smart Energy Chain" at secexplorer.io. Such an explorer is typically used to transparently track blocks, transactions, and addresses on a blockchain.
The SEP explorer is a simulation. Although the interface (available at
https://secexplorer.io and its duplicate
https://secexplorer.net displays blocks, transactions, and validators, it lacks any technical substance:
• No real data: The displayed data is static or generated client-side without connecting to a real blockchain. No valid queries to blockchain nodes are performed.
• Missing links: There are no block hashes or references (parent/child links) that would prove an immutable chain of blocks. Transactions are not linked.
• No APIs: There are no documented APIs for developers (e.g., REST, Web3) to interact with the supposed blockchain, which is standard for any legitimate blockchain.
• Implausible transaction data: The displayed transactions often show a value of 0 SEP with simultaneously disproportionate fees (e.g., 50–65 SEP), which is economically nonsensical and indicates simulated data.
3.3. The RPC Server: An Endpoint Without ConnectionTo connect wallets like MetaMask to a blockchain, an RPC (Remote Procedure Call) endpoint is needed. SEP provides the URL
https://rpc.secexplorer.io for this purpose. Testing this endpoint ultimately exposes the simulation.
A manual test using an eth_getBlockByNumber request (a standard command to query a specific block) returns a formally correct response, but with telltale characteristics:
• Inconsistent data: Repeating the same query for the same block yields different results. A real blockchain is deterministic; a written block is immutable. This inconsistency is direct proof of simulation.
• Simulated values: The response contains static and unrealistic values like difficulty: "0x2" and gasUsed: "0x0".
• Missing core functionality: Querying the token balance (one of the most basic functions) fails. The browser's developer console shows repeated errors when connecting to the SEP network in MetaMask: failed to load balance for token at 0x2a65...a58E.
This proves that the RPC server is not connected to a functioning blockchain but is programmed to respond to queries with fake data.
3.4. The Useless Wallet IntegrationUsers can add the "SEC Mainnet" to their MetaMask wallet via the platform chainlist.org (which does not validate entries). The direct link to the entry is:
https://chainlist.org/chain/19516 However, this integration is purely superficial.
• No functionality: The wallet cannot retrieve real data such as token price or balance. Functions like "Swap" or "Bridge" are unavailable.
• Visual deception: To users, the network appears active, although no blockchain functions are actually performed in the background.
In summary, the "Smart Energy Chain" does not meet any of the fundamental criteria of an EVM-compatible (Ethereum Virtual Machine) blockchain. It exists solely as a collection of user interfaces that simulate a non-existent technical infrastructure.
4. Economic Analysis: A Practically Unsellable TokenA functioning market is essential for any digital asset. In the case of SEP, such a market is virtually non-existent, making an exit for investors nearly impossible.
4.1. Lack of Liquidity on Decentralized Exchanges (DEX)A test on PancakeSwap, the largest decentralized exchange on the BNB Chain, shows that SEP cannot be traded there.
• When attempting to add the token via its contract address, the warning "Unknown Source" appears.
• There is no liquidity pool (e.g., SEP/USDT or SEP/BNB) from which a price could be determined or a trade executed.
• No trading volume could be detected on other decentralized or centralized exchanges either.
4.2. Misleading Representation on the Centralized Exchange XT.comThe only platform where SEP is reportedly traded is the exchange XT.com. However, there are massive inconsistencies here as well.
• Incorrect network designation: When depositing or withdrawing SEP on XT.com, users can only select “SEP” as the network. Technically, however, the transactions run over the BNB Chain, as evidenced by the “0x...” addresses and supported by the explorer simulation. This is a potentially deliberate misrepresentation, as the exchange pretends to support a native coin on a proprietary chain. In the “Onchain Analytics” section of the SEP/USDT trading pair, no activity is visible – a feature that only applies to tokens on XT.com, not to coins with their own blockchain. An accidental error on XT.com's part? Their press release states that XT.com welcomed SEP as a native coin upon its listing (
https://www.globenewswire.com/fr/news-release/2024/10/18/2965381/0/en/Discover-the-SEP-Smart-Energy-Pay-Listing-on-XT-Exchange.html)?!
Extremely low trading volume: According to the data aggregator CoinGecko, global daily trading volume for SEP is around 20,000 to 30,000 USD. This volume is exclusively concentrated on XT.com.
Unsalability: Due to the low volume and lack of market depth, even attempting to sell a moderate amount of SEP tokens would immediately crash the price. There is no liquid market capable of absorbing sell orders. Were all investor funds invested in SEP (tokens)?
Thus, while the SEP token is technically transferable, due to the lack of trading opportunities and the non-existent market, it is effectively worthless for most investors.
5. Deconstruction of Marketing Claims: The ISO 20022 DeceptionOne of SEP’s central and most ambitious marketing promises is its alleged compatibility with the financial messaging standard ISO 20022, as advertised on
https://smartenergypays.io and
https://smartenergypay.com/smart-energy-bank.
What ISO 20022 requires: This standard forms the foundation for modern communication between regulated financial institutions (banks, clearinghouses, etc.). A compliant infrastructure requires audit-proof, verifiable transaction processing connected to regulated networks (such as SEPA or SWIFT).
Why SEP cannot deliver on this:
• No blockchain: As proven, the technological foundation for this promise does not exist.
• No connectivity: SEP lacks any known banking license, no partnership with a regulated bank, and no connection to official payment networks like SEPA or SWIFT.
• The BNB Chain is not ISO 20022 compliant.
The promise to process ISO 20022-compliant payments is therefore an unfounded claim intended to feign legitimacy and technological competence by referencing an established financial standard.
6. Historical Context: A Pattern of Deception?!Analysis of the corporate background and a predecessor project reveals additional serious indicators that reinforce the suspicion of a fraudulent system.
6.1. The Predecessor Project: Smart Energy Token (SET)In 2024, before the launch of SEP, the same structure operated a project called “Smart Energy Token (SET).” The parallels are striking:
• Empty promises and marketing materials: SET also promoted visions of energy trading on the blockchain, which were never realized. The original website smart-energy-token.com now redirects to the current SEP site. Historical versions of the website and related documents can be found on Archive.org. For promotion, the following videos were among those used:
YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gwetmEu73E https://www.youtube.com/shorts/L91KAbxQvik TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@smartenergypay/video/7385161667316894982 https://www.tiktok.com/@smartenergypay/video/7403296419311799557 • Technically worthless: SET was a simple ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain. The contract had no additional functions to support the advertised use cases. All tokens were issued directly to the creator. The source code can be viewed here:
https://etherscan.io/token/0x4c5d8D027E97b52542dC66399752c76E017Dc6E9 • Never traded: SET was never listed on an exchange and had virtually no trading volume.
• The simulated swap platform: After SET ended, a website was created at
https://setstaking.smartenergypay.com/index.html promising investors a bonus for swapping SET for SEP. A technical analysis of this page shows that it, like the explorer, is a pure simulation without any blockchain functionality. It appears to be intended to calm and stall early investors.
The transition from SET to SEP appears to be an evolution of the same method, merely increasing the marketing narrative and the simulated technical complexity.
6.2. No Banking License, No Registered Financial Service ProviderIn the imprint of the banking page (
https://smartenergypays.io), an MSB license (Money Service Business) with the number C100000081 is stated. Licensing as a bank or registered financial service provider is supposedly via Canada.
A search in the official Canadian FINTRAC database, which lists all banks and financial service providers, shows that this license (C100000081) belongs to an entirely different company (Global Payment System Limited). SEP itself does not hold such a license in Canada. The database is publicly accessible here:
https://fintrac-canafe.canada.ca/msb-esm/reg-eng 7. Sales and Marketing StructureInternational Sales
SEP’s sales operations cross borders and target both European and non-European markets. Prospective investors are approached via personal contacts, Zoom calls, regional events and Telegram groups.
Referral (Bonus) Model
Although SEP does not operate as a classic multi-level marketing scheme, it uses a direct referral model with the following features:
• The direct referrer receives a bonus.
• No commission tiers across multiple levels – this minimizes complexity but increases the incentive for direct acquisition.
This model mirrors the structure and mechanics previously used for SET.
Sweepstakes and Time-Limited Promotions
Sweepstakes, where invested amounts can be multiplied, are a central sales instrument. This principle was already used in the “SET phase” and supports both investor retention and rapid onboarding of new participants.
Communication Channels and Ecosystem Pitch
Investor coordination and communication are primarily conducted through:
• Telegram: Channels that spread visions and publish news and reminders for Zoom sessions.
• Zoom calls: Live presentations where the SEP “ecosystem” is introduced, including:
• Planned wind farms
• Processes for converting desert sand into construction sand
• Visionary billion-dollar deals that are supposedly to be settled via the SEP Coin
8. Overall AssessmentSmart Energy Pay (SEP) does not operate on its own blockchain but uses a simple token on the public BNB Chain. The entire alleged infrastructure – from the block explorer to the RPC server to the wallet integration – is a technically verifiable simulation.
The abundance of evidence at least suggests that Smart Energy Pay is a fraudulent system deliberately designed to acquire investor funds under false pretenses.
The key elements of deception are:
• The simulation of a non-existent proprietary blockchain.
• The unfounded promises derived from this, such as ISO 20022 compatibility and smart banking functions.
• The creation of a practically worthless and illiquid token, whose tradability is only suggested through misleading claims on the XT.com exchange.
• The continuation of a pattern already employed in the previous project SET. Is SEP the marketing-optimized version of SET?
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