onecoin-logoThe key to a successful Ponzi scheme is getting people to invest, withdrawing their money and then leaving them in a lurch.

Tons of a victims, a handful of early investors profiting – you know how it goes.

One of the issues dampening efforts to rip people off is that with the traditional Ponzi schemes, ROIs are paid out on a schedule – to everyone.

Yes earlier investors still make off with the lion’s share, but mid to late investors also get a few dollars too (not nearly enough to cover their initial investments though).

Is there a way to address this “problem” and maximize admin and early adopter profits?

For the answer one only need look as far as a recent OneCoin webinar.

Zeek Rewards pioneered the Ponzi points business model. This model sees affiliates invest funds in exchange for points, with the scheme then paying out initial ROIs via said points.

The points are attributed imaginary value by the scheme’s operators, who quietly withdraw from the backend – all the while urging those who have invested to keep on reinvesting their points… for more points.

It’s a combination of a Ponzi scheme, fear of loss marketing and online MLM and, despite Zeek Rewards being shut down by the SEC in 2012, is a model still in use today.

Albeit in different form.

The latest form the Ponzi points model has been deployed is via altcoins, that is proposed BitCoin alternatives.

OneCoin is one such opportunity.

The core OneCoin business model is much like Zeek. You invest $x, you get points (OneCoins), something-something magic, those points indefinitely increase in value and you get paid in more points.

At some point the idea is you convert those points to cash but, as OneCoin management are evidently well aware of, if enough people start doing that early on, admin and initial investor profits are eaten into.

sebastian-greenwood-master-distributor-onecoinAnd so we have Sebastian Greenwood (right), Master Investor Distributor with OneCoin, begging investors to do the opposite.

Currently in Vietnam to promote OneCoin to unsuspecting locals, Greenwood urges existing investors to hold onto their OneCoins on the promise of an indefinite increase in value.

This was done via a OneCoin corporate “State of Nation” webinar held on August 14th, in which Greenwood laid on heavy with the “fear of loss” marketing concept:

[7:30] The people who have this early sell behavior they actually lost on their account because of the increase in limits.

Guys, do not sell at this early stage.

There is no real point in selling at this early stage, I’m just telling you some friendly advice.

Do not sell the OneCoin at this early stage, you are losing too much value because the price of the coin is increasing.

[8:15] This is definitely something that you should be very careful with.

There is no point for people who sold out, for example at one Euro, when it’s now one sixty-five.

Which means that those people who did sell at the early stage, they lost already thirty percent in value.

Now why would you go and do that? At this early stage, why would you sell?

There is no, no idea really behind it.

[14:20] Do not sell this OneCoin today. There is no point in losing that promising (undecipherable).

In an effort to encourage deeper initial investment into OneCoin, the scheme recently introduced a €12,500 “Premium Trader” entry-point – up from the €5000 “Tycoon Trader” package.

For legitimate cryptocurrencies, what users of the currency do with the coin is neither here nor there.

It’s out there, and whether it succeeds or fails is entirely determined by market adoption of the coin.

The difference with OneCoin?

Those selling you the coins are taking your money and have a very specific reason for not wanting you to withdraw it back out.

People withdrawing their OneCoins (points) means there’s less fund for Sebastian Greenwood and others at the top of the OneCoin investment pool to withdraw.

I mean do you really think Greenwood himself isn’t quietly withdrawing thousands daily/weekly while he encourages the rest of the OneCoin affiliate-base to accumulate numbers on a screen?

This is precisely how Zeek Rewards worked, with executive management and early investors making off with the majority of funds withdrawn.

The vast majority of Zeek Rewards investors were only left with VIP points. Points which, outside of the inflated value they were assigned within the scheme, were ultimately worthless.

And OneCoin, using the same core business model (OneCoins = VIP points = Ponzi points), is no different.

Whether regulators shut OneCoin down or the scheme collapses, the vast majority of investors are going to be left with nothing more than worthless OneCoin points… and it’s going to hurt, just like it did in Zeek Rewards.