Not so long ago, the internet blew up with news of Initiative Q, a supposed innovative new project that would redefine the cryptocurrency landscape. Its promises of creating a new global currency that would be more valuable, secure, and user-friendly than all other modern payment systems sent the media into overdrive.
Unlike most other ICOs, Initiative Q doesn’t want your money. All it requires is the completion of a sign-up process using a verified email address. In exchange, it presents the possibility of getting a significant reward in the future – simply for signing up.
It sounded like a fairytale with a golden pot at the end of the rainbow, but has it panned out that way? Let’s find out.
Signs of a Scam
Initiative Q has got so big it even has a dedicated page on Wikipedia. This may seem like a stamp of approval, but not all is quite as it seems. A Wikipedia entry alone cannot outweigh numerous signs of a scam, among which are the following:
1. Unbelievable numbers
Initiative Q set a target value of 1 USD per Q, with an overall supply of 2 trillion Qs. Putting that into perspective, Bitcoin’s biggest ever market capitalization was $330 billion in December 2017, while the total gold reserves on Earth are worth $7.5 trillion, so can anyone truly believe that one small project could ever reach $2 trillion?
2. Liquidity is not guaranteed
Currently, Initiative Q promises to give away some $16,000 worth of Q currency via airdrop to every participant who joins the network. This number is already 10 times smaller than in the promo video.
Even if participants get to see that many Q tokens one day, there’s no guarantee that they will be able to cash them out. Issuing your own cryptocurrency is not as complicated as having it listed on exchanges with sufficient trading volume.
3. No technical details
A project that cares for its reputation always has a detailed whitepaper that provides a lengthy description of its technology. There is still no such document on Initiative Q’s website and no explanation of how they are going to reach their goals.
4. No address required
Typically, projects that distribute their tokens via airdrops require users to provide their ETH address or equivalent for token delivery. Initiative Q only requires you to provide your personal email address has still not asked for a wallet. It remains a secret how they are going to spread the promised wealth amongst users.
5. No information about the team
Standing up in the project’s defense, it’s worth noting that the project is managed by Saar Wilf, who worked as a director at PayPal between 2008 and 2010. However, the website still shows no other team members apart from Wilf, although you can at least identify seven potential candidates on LinkedIn, but the fact they’re not listed on the website is a concern.
How Initiative Q Stands Today
In typical crypto fashion, the hype around this project seemingly died just as quickly as it appeared. Just take a look at this Google Trends graph:
The last activity on the project’s social media accounts took place during March 2019, although the number of unique visits remains in the hundreds of thousands per month, according to SimilarWeb, meaning that more users are probably joining the project every day.
A Scam From Day One
With everything we have seen in the months since the project launched, it’s pretty clear that Initiative Q was a scam from the very start – the promises of unbelievable profits out of nowhere, no technical details, no team on the website, and no product to showcase were all immediate red flags.
Unsurprisingly, such a scheme generated huge press and attracted numerous individuals to eagerly shared their private data. Now the project has gathered millions of email addresses that belong to real people, with likely nothing coming their way, at least as far as profits are concerned. If this was their aim then they’re done a fantastic job, and once again thousands of people have been taken for a ride in the crypto space.
