PonziCoin
Finance and crypto
ethereum token parody
SHOW HN2018
How HN took it
6 positive, 21 neutral or asking, 0 mixed, 18 critical, out of 45 comments about the project. Thread score -0.22.
Idea: 2 for, 11 againstExecution: 1 for, 3 againstPrivacy: 0 for, 3 againstDesign: 2 for, 0 againstDocs: 1 for, 0 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Funny joke, with praise for the whitepaper, logo and contract source
From 4 comments
The white paper is great
toddkazakov on HNThe white paper made my day. haha
agitator on HNThat logo is fantastic
aakilfernandes on HNThis has seen ~$10,600USD worth of love so far [1]. The contract source is comedy gold [2]. [1]…
lpage on HN
Satirical lines in the site copy are enjoyable
From 2 comments
> We suggest shilling this coin heavily to your family and friends like a fucking sociopath. That line made my day.
iaw on HN> Q: Is this site secure? > A: We use Equifax-grade security. haha
geoffreyy on HN
Objections
It is an illegal Ponzi or pyramid scheme even as a joke
From 3 comments
> Is gambling using smart contracts illegal? In most US jurisdictions, gambling is generally prohibited, though there are generally some specific exceptions (often with licensing…
dragonwriter on HNI called the SEC last year and selling a coin claiming it'll go up in value without registering as a security is illegal, even if it's a joke. Even if you don't say it'll go up…
everdev on HNThis is a pyramid scheme and not a Ponzi. I'm disappointed.
hndamien on HN
Investors can lose money; contract may run out of ETH
From 3 comments
You can lose more than 75%. If there's no ETH in the wallet they can't pay you back out.
sushid on HNClearly this person has minimal experience in fraud, this is a horribly set up ponzi scheme. The investors can make a profit purely with their own actions, and remove any ETH…
phyller on HNI made a spreadsheet to figure this out and the reason I dont mention that risk more is that is only at risk of happening after around 900 tokens are sold - until then the…
vertoc on HN
Not a real Ponzi since the mechanics are disclosed; it is a pyramid scheme
From 2 comments
A Ponzi scheme cannot be transparent; if it's transparent, it's probably a pyramid scheme. A Ponzi is something where the victims are duped into believing there is something else…
dragonwriter on HN> I'm sure there are legal implications of running a Ponzi scheme too. I'm positive that telling someone about the illegal thing you're doing does not absolve you of…
dragonwriter on HN
Site uses http, not https
From 1 comment
looks at url not https Figures.
master_ant on HN
Questions
Is the contract well coded?
From 1 comment
Is this a well coded contract? Also, how come is the source code available? I thought only bytcodes were pushed to the EVM ?
guiomie on HN
How many tokens have been bought so far?
From 1 comment
Can you see how many tokens have been bought till now?
slimshady94 on HN
Alternatives named
ponzi.io
From 2 comments
Yea, ponzi.io was one. Screenshot from 2014: https://web.archive.org/web/20140208200431/http://ponzi.io/
econner on HNThis was done with Ponzi.io a while back. Founder shut it down as they were afraid of breaking laws.
cobookman on HN
Earlier Ethereum pyramid dapp
From 1 comment
Yup. For example here: https://www.reddit.com/r/ethereum/comments/3g6ccj/these_are_the_first_ever_verifiable_pyramid/
Nummeros on HN
MMM Global
From 1 comment
Yes, a pyramid scheme, but Wikipedia still calls it a Ponzi scheme. I mean this one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MMM_Global I don't recommend it, I also know many people who…
qwerty456127 on HN
Eve Online in-game Ponzi schemes
From 1 comment
It's been happening on Eve Online since over a decade ago. Those are Ponzi schemes, and they are not illegal.
stcredzero on HN