Is Initiative Q a Pyramid Scheme?
A payment network that is aggressively marketing itself on social media has drawn comparisons to pyramid schemes and prompted suspicions that it could be a scam. Initiative Q aims to create a private digital currency, with its developers saying that those who join early will receive free “Q” coins that may eventually have monetary value.
Why it’s a scam
The values of crypto assets are extremely volatile, and purchasing or investing in them involves a high degree of risk. Unlike money you might keep in your bank, which is insured up to certain amounts or held at brokerage firms that offer some government protections, no one guarantees the value of cryptos.
The founders of Initiative Q are using social media to urge people to sign up now to receive their free “Q” currency, which they claim will increase in value as the network grows. But this approach has drawn comparisons to pyramid schemes and raised suspicions about the network’s legitimacy.
Most valid cryptocurrency developers do not aggressively market their coins, and they post detailed documentation that outlines the coin’s purpose. Anyone who sees a cryptocurrency with no clear purpose should treat it with suspicion. Moreover, scammers may attempt to steal your private key by “hacking” your wallet, and once they have access, it can be impossible to recover the funds.
What’s in it for me
Initiative Q is aggressively marketing itself and telling people to sign up as soon as possible, in the hope they will get free “Q” tokens that will rise in value. While the company has been criticized for its pyramid scheme-like tactics, the idea is intriguing. It’s based on institutional cryptoeconomics, the study of the basic rules that govern emerging economic systems like cryptocurrencies. “Q” is designed to prevent fraud and disputes, for example, by resolving them by deciding what the real ledger is — something that blockchains typically cannot do.
