If I were to run a Bitcoin scam...

[Cara Navarre]

If I were to run a BTC scam, I would start with the typical Ponzi that's been going on in the Lending forum. I'd offer a modest return and put aside 10% of the coins to fund withdrawals, and 10% into a market manipulation fund.

I'd advertise the fund heavily, make everyone super happy all while continuously cashing out 80% of funds at $10+ per BTC. The BTC price rises because people are scrambling to get into my super-rich-awesome-fun-fund. I'd fly to Vegas to meet people in person, show them my fake id, my fake Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. When the naysayers finally give enough grief, and when my market manipulation fund is well stacked, I'd close it down, and tell everyone that they'll receive their funds back in a week or two. Then I'd take all the BTC I have handy and start selling all of it -- bringing the price down to a rapid low as everyone follows suit and panic sells on rumors that I was running a huge Ponzi.

When the price is sufficiently low, I'd start buying back coins, maybe spend $500k - $1M. . . I've already made $4M by consistently selling off my "investors'" deposits. Delay. Delay. Pay everyone back what they're owed. Then, I'd start the same scam with the same details.

So, basically, I'd do what the guy with the eyepatch is doing.

[FreeMoney]

Finally, a thread with no mention of Pirate.

edit: damnit, you specifically mentioned him at the end, I'm blind and you're not subtle.

[drakahn]

So basically, we know not to trade with you, since you think in "how to do scams"

Also, you having a scammers mind doesn't make everyone else a scammer

[Cara Navarre]

So basically, we know not to trade with you, since you think in "how to do scams"

If you're this mentally impaired, please do not do business with me. 

[Coinoisseur]

Finally, a thread with no mention of Pirate.

edit: damnit, you specifically mentioned him at the end, I'm blind and you're not subtle.

Endings are the hardest part to get right. Just ask one of the following: Red Bioware, Green Bioware, or Blue Bioware.

I really don't get the people who get upset when people talk about how illicit things can be done. I mean we have violent movies everywhere, porn, but heaven forbid someone starts talking about the details of how people get ripped off. Oh wait, that's acceptable too as long as you dumb it down, add some explosions, and charge people to see it.

[dust]

It isn't a scam if everyone is paid back.  If the borrowed funds are used for market manipulation, so what?  That said, there isn't enough money in market manipulation to justify 7%/week interest over nearly a year.

[Timbert33]

It isn't a scam if everyone is paid back.  If the borrowed funds are used for market manipulation, so what?  That said, there isn't enough money in market manipulation to justify 7%/week interest over nearly a year.

This kind of shit is bad for the bitcoin community and economy as a whole no matter what. I don't think everyone will be paid back including interest because it just seems impossible. But if they're paid back by Pirate using market manipulation to increase his btc holdings, that's almost as bad anyway. He's fucking with the market and screwing over all his clients (and messing with everyone else) by dropping the btc price to the point where they aren't making what they were supposed to. That's still pretty much a scam imo.

I still can't believe how stupid people are to believe they are going to get such an impossible interest rate and that they were willing to hand over so much power to btcS&T/Pirate in their blind hope for free money. Oh well, just goes to show we have a lot of naive morons in this community. This shit is almost as bad as sending one of those e-mail scammers a $500 money order on the claim that they will give back $1000 at the end of the week.

The majority of my btc are in USD now sold between $11-14 / btc and I'm just going to wait until this mess clears up before I put money back in btc. Sucks that we have to deal with this, but that's what happens with an unregulated currency / market.

[BorderBits]

If I were to run a BTC scam, I would start with the typical Ponzi that's been going on in the Lending forum. I'd offer a modest return and put aside 10% of the coins to fund withdrawals, and 10% into a market manipulation fund.

I'd advertise the fund heavily, make everyone super happy all while continuously cashing out 80% of funds at $10+ per BTC. The BTC price rises because people are scrambling to get into my super-rich-awesome-fun-fund. I'd fly to Vegas to meet people in person, show them my fake id, my fake Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. When the naysayers finally give enough grief, and when my market manipulation fund is well stacked, I'd close it down, and tell everyone that they'll receive their funds back in a week or two. Then I'd take all the BTC I have handy and start selling all of it -- bringing the price down to a rapid low as everyone follows suit and panic sells on rumors that I was running a huge Ponzi.

When the price is sufficiently low, I'd start buying back coins, maybe spend $500k - $1M. . . I've already made $4M by consistently selling off my "investors'" deposits. Delay. Delay. Pay everyone back what they're owed. Then, I'd start the same scam with the same details.

So, basically, I'd do what the guy with the eyepatch is doing.

Please properly credit your sources when copying and pasting Pirate's posts at SA.  Thank you. 

[repentance]

if they're paid back by Pirate using market manipulation to increase his btc holdings, that's almost as bad anyway. He's fucking with the market and screwing over all his clients (and messing with everyone else) by dropping the btc price to the point where they aren't making what they were supposed to. That's still pretty much a scam imo.

I disagree.  They were promised a specific rate of return on their investment.  What made that attractive to people at the time was that BTC price was low and stable so there wasn't much money to be made from speculation.  People may have hoped that so many Bitcoins being placed in HYIPs would push up the market price due to less Bitcoins being available for sale on exchanges, but they should never have counted on it.  Pirate's programme was a way for people to acquire more Bitcoins quickly without buying them or mining them - nothing more and nothing less.  Their USD price is irrelevant to those who weren't speculating.

[bg002h]

I presume the price will crash when pirate pays out...all those coins rushing back to folks who could sell them...

[the_thing]

I presume the price will crash when pirate pays out...all those coins rushing back to folks who could sell them...

>implying pirate will ever pay out
imho pirate is already selling his assets and that's the main reason behind the price crash (beside all the people jumping on the bandwagon, going apeshit insane and selling their btcs under value). There is no market manipulation, no magical business model, no secret mumbo jumbo. Just pure ol' Ponzi scheme pulled off in the classic way, although with extraordinary effort.

Also, those who still believe hope pirate is legit should cut their nutsacks off so they won't be able to reproduce. Chances are their kids would be as stupid as their moronic parents. And before someone asks : yes, I'm mad.

[CoinDiver]

Is it, or is it not a scam if you don't take peoples money, you simply devalue it?

[drakahn]

Is it, or is it not a scam if you don't take peoples money, you simply devalue it?

It is not a scam, that is part of what he was lent the money for.

[RodeoX]

What you are seeing is the brutality of a real free market. Get used to market manipulation if you are going to be in the bitcoin economy. Unless you prefer government regulation?

[CoinDiver]

Is it, or is it not a scam if you don't take peoples money, you simply devalue it?

It is not a scam, that is part of what he was lent the money for.

You missed the point. The Fed doesn't actually take any of our money... they just devalue it through inflation. Scam'est non-scam I've ever seen.

[Timbert33]

I presume the price will crash when pirate pays out...all those coins rushing back to folks who could sell them...

>implying pirate will ever pay out
imho pirate is already selling his assets and that's the main reason behind the price crash (beside all the people jumping on the bandwagon, going apeshit insane and selling their btcs under value). There is no market manipulation, no magical business model, no secret mumbo jumbo. Just pure ol' Ponzi scheme pulled off in the classic way, although with extraordinary effort.

Also, those who still believe hope pirate is legit should cut their nutsacks off so they won't be able to reproduce. Chances are their kids would be as stupid as their moronic parents. And before someone asks : yes, I'm mad.

Yup, if it was a legit business he was running at that growth rate, he would have paid off his lenders quickly to own the business himself ASAP and made far more profit for himself. Clearly this is all bullshit and is a scam.

He could have offered a LOWER interest rate to just a few big investors to start up a business and told them his plan if it was an actual profitable business...