Unscrupulous ICOs Besmirch Cryptocurrencies as an Asset Class

Buzzfeed had a compelling article today about cryptocurrency "hucksters" that tout their ICOs, launched with white papers that are sometimes heavily lifted or outright plagiarized from others. They pointed to Dentalfix's plagiarization from Patientory (PTOY) and the source of the problem being that Upwork and Fiverr have a slew of less-than-skilled writers who for a few hundred will make you the proud owner of yet another ICO white paper to present to the public.

It's surprising that there are only 1500 or so altcoins out there, or at least listed on coinmarketcap, given the relative ease of getting an ICO and white paper going.

Buzzfeed's venture capital source rightly pointed out that "it's hard to differentiate who is serious and who is not" when reading these white papers. The ICOs might be wildly optimistic and quickly crash-and-burn or the company might mature into meeting or exceeding their expectations. It's a calculated gamble with a risk-reward that is enough to whet appetites across all economic lines. In the near future the SEC is going to start a more serious crackdown of these white papers and altcoins to make it more difficult for these ICOs to raise money, at least within the US, propelled by complaints against BitConnect and other coins that have already lost many untold fortunes.

A Cornell professor Buzzfeed also interviewed pointed to Tron (TRX) as an example of a high-flying altcoin that has amassed a stratospheric market cap into the billions despite also employing "abject plagiarism" in the process, copying Filecoin.

Presently the SEC's "Accredited Investor" laws attempt to steer those who can not afford to lose money away from risky investments. It's difficult because those who lack money are seeking a way to grow what little they have exponentially into something more substantive, irrespective of the risk involved--hence the success of the lottery and horse racing.

Buzzfeed's headline image had a white paper as the last paper on a toilet paper roll. These scam coins are largely besmirching cryptocurrencies as an asset class and will continue to do so as long as the barrier to entry is so low and fraudsters exist on the internet.