The current crypto frenzy is “reminiscent of what we had in the 1920s before the federal securities laws were put in place,” said U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler. He went on to add that “... Hucksters. Fraudsters. Scam artists. Ponzi schemes. The public is left in line at the bankruptcy court.”
“The crypto securities markets should not be allowed to undermine the well-earned trust the public has in the capital markets,” Gensler said. “The crypto markets should not be allowed to harm investors.”
The SEC this week brought separate actions against Binance and Coinbase, alleging they had unlawfully offered securities intermediation functions without registering them with the regulatory agency. The agency also alleged Coinbase commingled its exchange, broker-dealer and clearinghouse functions. The SEC also accused Binance of commingling investors’ assets.
Charles Ponzi, was an Italian born con artist based out of the United States and Canada. Born and raised in Lugo Italy, he became internationally famous in the early 1920s as a con man for his money-making scheme. He promised clients a 50% profit within 45 days, or 100% profit within 90 days, by buying discounted postal reply coupons in Europe and redeeming them at face value in the United States as a form of financial arbitrage.
In reality, Ponzi was paying earlier investors using the investments of later investors. While this type of fraudulent investment scheme was not originally invented by Ponzi, it became so identified with him that it now is referred to as a "Ponzi scheme".
His scheme ran for just under a year before it collapsed, costing his "investors" $20 million.
This history channel style documentary tells the full story of Charles Ponzi, from his childhood in Italy, through to the heights of his fame in Boston Massachusetts, through to his prison sentence, deportation, and his life after the scheme collapsed. In this film the Ponzi scheme is explained along with how it differs from a pyramid scheme.
The film is written and narrated by Patrick Boyle, a fund manager and finance professor at King's College London.
Even if you’ve been living under a rock, you’re probably familiar with Bitcoin. Now, just as crypto disrupted the concept of value, decentralized finance is poised to disrupt finance itself. The populist movement promises huge returns for daring investors. But with DeFi’s promise of inclusion comes risk and uncertainty.
Is there something in this or are people that gullible or just plain stupid?
So the question is - is this the start of a new Golden Age or are we on the edge of Disaster? You be the judge.
My name is STANLEY EPSTEIN and I am a member of the Citadel Advantage Group. I am a Illumeo Certified Instructor. Check out all my Online Training Courses. Just CLICK on the INSTRUCTOR badge.
