The cryptocurrency world is often described as the wild west, as there are a number of people out there that are using the Bitcoin boom as a means to make a quick buck. Unfortunately, these shameless people are also using some pretty powerful crypto-focused technology for bad rather than good. At BitStarz News, we are always on the lookout for the juiciest scoop, and we found a big one this time.
The cryptocurrency dubbed Maltese Scudo (SCD) is one of only 50 cryptocurrencies trading on the new StellarX decentralized crypto platform. In the beginning, StellarX was simply importing all Stellar-based cryptocurrencies to boost the number of available cryptos on the platform, but Maltese Scudo definitely stands out – so we decided to do some investigating.
Get ready for this, as the Maltese Scudo certainly isn’t all that it proclaims to be…
An Abundance of Red Flags
As soon as you land on the cryptocurrency’s website – www.maltesescudo.com – you are bombarded with red flags. Usually, cryptocurrency and ICO projects have beautiful, well-crafted websites – however, this website is far from that. Users are greeted by a flag with the Maltese cross on it and a line of text stating “Digital Currency of the Maltese Order” – hardly overwhelming. This coupled with the plethora of spelling and grammatical issues, poor layout, and imbalances in design make the website feel very much like it was cooked up in 15 minutes.
Stock Imagery and False Founders
It’s never a good sign when the founders of a supposed high-quality cryptocurrency don’t appear in any Google searches. In fact, none of the SCD team members listed appear on any social media site, including LinkedIn, Twitter, and CrunchBase. The only results that are related to their roles within the Maltese Scudo project are on the company website itself. In addition to this, in the bio of Dame Anna Locatelli – SCD Social Media and Community Manager – it claims she is a copywriter at cryptoinvest.io. However, this website is only a splash page showing the text “Coming Soon.”
Do you need any more red flags? Well, there are more – a lot more in fact. The next section is dedicated to a handful of logos – presumably where media partners or media mentions should be. This section is jam-packed with stock images of logos and – surprise, surprise – no external links to these alleged organizations.
Nothing More Than an Empty Garage
There are no social media links, no Telegram channel, and no contact form – only a Maltese address. This is where things become even more alarming. We headed over to the address to investigate further, but it turns out that the company HQ is nothing more than an empty garage. We even spoke with neighbors and other businesses in the area to find out if there is any business activity within the garage, it’s safe to say that we heard nothing positive. While it could simply be a mailbox for official letters with the team working remotely, there are much more prestigious locations for a mailbox in crypto friendly Malta.
The Alleged Location of the Company Behind the Maltese Scudo – Courtesy of Google Maps
The Tech Side Falls Short
Every cryptocurrency has a manifesto, whitepaper, or open source code, however Maltese Scudo lacks all of the above. There is no white paper explaining what the cryptocurrency does, how it does it, or why anyone should buy into it. If this hasn’t sent investors running for the hills and caused exchanges to blacklist it then we don’t know what will. Even the Venezuelan government controlled Petro has a white paper and as a crypto that’s been nothing short of a disaster.
In addition to no whitepaper, the lack of technical explanation of how Maltese Scudo works is baffling. There is virtually no information available and no way to get in touch to learn more. The Maltese Scudo screams scam, so it’s worrying that it’s been able to reach this point without facing an investigation.
Hollow Numbers
According to data from Stellar Expert, there will only ever be a maximum of 63 million Maltese Scudo, and all of these are currently in supply shared out between 522 accounts. At the current price of 14.7 XLM per SCD, that makes each SCD worth around $3.77 – that gives SCD a total market value of $237,510,000, a fair chunk of change for a cryptocurrency with virtually no information available.
One wallet appears to hold a decent amount of SCD – around 12.6k SCD – and the rest is spread out in sizeable chunks between the other account holders. According to data from StellarX, the price of SCD is up 1.6% in the last 24 hours, which is most likely driven by the platform’s launch. It’s wondrous how the cryptocurrency even got listed on the fledgling crypto exchange, but no doubt it will quickly be removed.
The Final Verdict
The Maltese Scudo project has quite possibly the most red flags of any crypto project we have ever seen. While there is a massive deficit of information, false founders, false qualifications, and a false address, investors can still buy SCD for now – if they are crazy enough. This could go down as one of the most under the radar crypto scams ever witnessed quite frankly. It hasn’t tried to do anything flashy or glamourous, so it has managed to remain under the radar.
In the interest of fairness, it could still be a project still in the early phases of setup, but even if that’s the case it shouldn’t have been listed on any crypto exchange in the first place.
The future of the Maltese Scudo – much likes its past – is unknown, but hopefully investors won’t be left out of pocket when this scam is inevitably shut down.
If you want our advice, steer clear of the Maltese Scudo, as all the signs point to the SCD being a crypto scam that has some pretty sinister intentions.
 is a Crypto Scam){kind=link}