Ever since cryptocurrency appeared in the world, ICO (Initial Coin Offering) scams have always existed.
There were also evils that disappeared after receiving only the initial investment money, sold the entire amount on the first day of listing and bounced off, or even went further and linked it to multi-level fraud.
At this level, it is safe to say that virtually 99% of new virtual currencies were created for the purpose of eating or scamming.
K-Star Coin, which appeared this time, was also thought to be a common scam cryptocurrency.
However, there was a point that was different from the existing virtual currency, which is that many major securities companies were early investors of K-Star Coin.
It was a situation that I couldn’t understand with my common sense, so I decided to find an expert in this field.
An expert who knows the physiology of this floor better than anyone else because he has done similar work in the past.
I met him at a prison in Anyang, Gyeonggi-do.
“Prison number 1961. To the special meeting room.”
A haggard-looking man walks into the room.
It was Na Min-seong, the owner of Bithit, a cryptocurrency exchange in the early days, and who helped Choi Myung-ja to run Arirang Coin.
He checks my face and immediately spreads a sarcastic greeting.
“Yeah. What kind of wind blew the representative of the great WHTS Company to come to this humble place?”
“Looking at the snout teasing, it looks like it deserves to live. Well, it’s still the first year, so it’s time to not be able to cover the poo and pee.”
“You don’t even know life here, and you don’t even bite your teeth.”
From noble mtl dot com
As soon as I heard that, I burst into laughter. How funny it must be to see a blue-eyed guy glaring at his 7-year-old senior.
As a cell senior, I dig into what he fears the most.
“I can move your room to a nicer place if I want to. For example, a room at the eastern end of Building 4, or the 2nd floor of Building 4 with good sunlight would be fine.”
Building 4, which I mentioned, is an area where heinous criminals are confined. And the second floor of Building 4 was where prisoners sentenced to death or life imprisonment were confined under special management.
There was no way that Na Min-seong was unaware of it, so his complexion turned blue at once.
‘If I gave him this much fear, I’ll have to give him a carrot next time.’
I hand him a cigarette to lighten the mood.
“what… … .”
“Smoke one. Even the guards will allow that much.”
The prison guard who received my gaze turned his head to the side. Only then did Na Min-seong hurriedly grab a cigarette and light it.
“flaw… … How long has it been since you tasted this cigarette?”
Originally, in the meeting room, the visitor and the inmate are not allowed to contact each other.
However, in the special meeting room, which can be used with the permission of the prison warden, they tended to turn a blind eye to light behavior.
In fact, there was an ashtray lying on the desk in the special meeting room.
Na Min-seong hurriedly smoked a second cigarette, probably not enough.
“Why did you come to see me? Choi Myung-ja is already finished, so he probably didn’t come here to get information from you.”
“I came here because I needed an expert opinion.”
“What kind of nonsense are you talking about?”
“Answer whether to do it or not. If you don’t, I’ll go find someone else.”
Na Min-seong rubs the half-burnt long candle into an ashtray and straightens his back.
“There must be no one who has gone through all the battles between the mountains and the air like me, right? Even after this, it is the body that even operated the government coin.”
“So are you going to do it?”
“Listen to your conditions first.”
“I will make the most of the convenience so that you can live comfortably in the bread. If possible, we can make you a model prisoner and extend your release date.”
Disappointment pours from Na Min-seong’s face. Did you think I would even take it out?
“What if I refuse?”
“Starting tomorrow, life in Building 4 will begin with the people subject to special management.”
“… … .”
He nodded reluctantly, perhaps realizing he had no choice.
“Read it.”
I toss the bundle of papers I have prepared at him. It was a document summarizing the K Star Coin incident.
“This is 100% scam.”
“I know.”
“I know, but why did you bring it?”
He grumbles for a moment, then puts his nose into the papers again.
“hmm? If the new coin is in the top 10 by market cap, it has grown quite a bit. Didn’t the forces pushing from behind put some effort into it?”
“Today is the 10th day since the coin was released.”
Na Min-seong, who took out a third cigarette, coughed and exhaled smoke.
“Top 10 after 10 days of release? How much money did you pour into these guys early on?”
“Three or four billion-dollar events? And they’ve been stamping their faces on newspaper advertisements and on TV.”
“I think I asked for the water bottle properly.”
“Surprisingly, the landlord is a securities company. WP Investment Trust, Daehyun Securities, LK Investment, SG Asset Management, Ever Financial Investment… … .”
Na Min-seong sticks out his tongue when he hears the names of the companies.
“The lineup is gorgeous. It’s like a casino company entering the game of eating money and eating money.”
“So it is suspicious. There is no reason for securities companies to snoop on ICOs, which have the highest risk even in the virtual currency market.”
“The securities company has no reason to do that, but the higher up would have needed virtual currency. There is nothing better than this for the chaebol presidents’ slush funds. Since it is anonymous, security is thorough, it is easy to get it abroad, and it is easy to wash because there is an exchange.”
He was definitely in the current position, so he pointed out the core at once. However, there was a critical hole here.
“If you intend to use it for slush funds, it would be better to use existing virtual currencies such as acorns or bitcoins for stability.”
“That’s sewage or something. The guy who planned this case is drawing a bigger picture.”
“What big picture?”
“The amount issued in advance before listing. If you hide it well and take it out later, it’s like creating trillions of slush funds. In addition, since the flow of funds cannot be grasped, 100% pure money of unknown origin is born.”
The principle of listed cryptocurrency is to transparently disclose all issued coins.
However, that was only a story when it was a major cryptocurrency, and Jobcoin, whose name is unknown, could have made the search itself difficult or hid some transaction details by planting bugs.
“If the purpose of K-Star Coin is to create a slush fund with pre-issuance… … .”
“They will try to grow in size as much as possible through publicity and additional investment. The larger the market cap, the greater the value of the hidden coin.”
It was not a task for major securities companies to launch a virtual currency if they decided.
Even if the market capitalization did not exceed the solid acorn, bitcoin, and ethereum, it was possible to aim for the next 4th place in market capitalization.
‘If it turns out that the birth of the 4th largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization is for concealment of slush funds, it will be a headache.’
Negative public opinion on virtual currency will lead to a market crash, and millions of victims will be mass-produced.
After that, a dark period will come for the entire industry as investment contracts and various regulations take place.
At that point, the overall pie would decrease, so the Acorn Coin, which was seeking stability, was also hit.
“How to stop it?”
“doesn’t exist. There is no evidence that it was for slush fund purposes.”
“… … .”
“Buy coins in advance when you needlessly relax. If they keep pumping, the price will go up.”
If you buy K-star coins to see the price difference here, the coin price will go up and you will only help them.
If we can’t stop their plans, we’ll have to destroy the bubbles before they build.
* * *
I arrived at the Seoul Arts Center where the K Starcoin seminar was held with Lee So-young.
The venue was already full. We broke through the crowd that took up the aisle and took our seats at the table right in front of the stage.
“Look over there. Isn’t that person Shin Woo-hyuk, CEO of WHTS Company?”
“oh my god! Next to me is Acorn Coin developer Lee So-young.”
“There was a rumor that K Starcoin was collaborating with WHTS Company, but it seems to be true. I need to buy more coins before rumors spread.”
“I’m going to buy the full one too.”
While we are sitting in our seats, the people around us are looking sideways at us and whispering non-stop.
“It feels like being at the zoo.”
Lee So-young did not hide her discomfort.
“Who are the animals and who are the guests?”
“Of course we are animals.”
“Then we must be the main characters. Please react at least once in a while to the customers who came to this place.”
As I wave to the people I look at, So-Young Lee sighs.
“This is not the time to joke. Just because we attended a PR seminar would make the news.”
“I know. That’s why I came.”
“Eh? Didn’t you come here to meet CEO Taylor Kim?”
Sometimes the venue gets dark. I point forward to mean let’s see from the stage.
Doo doo doo doo.
Spotlights were laid on the podium along with sound effects that created tension, and a man dressed in a suit appeared on the spot.
-Nice to meet you, I am Taylor Kim, CEO of K Starcoin.
The way they appear on stage and their greetings are very familiar. At least she wore a purple cardigan and silver horn-rimmed glasses.
Lee So-young whispers softly from the side.
“The representative came and changed clothes in a hurry and came out. Even though the top is different, the hair style and pants are the same.”
While we were whispering, Taylor Kim’s promotional speech for K Starcoin started.
-K Star Coin has a different concept from other investment virtual currencies. One K Star Coin has a fixed value of 1 dollar, and by the KSC coin market price and algorithm linked to it… … .
It’s something I’ve heard many times before, so I yawn.
However, the other investors sitting next to him listened to his speech with twinkling eyes and applauded enthusiastically as soon as he finished.
Seeing this, Lee So-yeong muttered lowly.
“How many people applaud and understand the structure of K Star Coin just mentioned here?”
“Structure is not important from the start. If this event raises the price of K-Star Coin, that’s it. look. It’s already risen close to 30%, hasn’t it?”
Lee So-yeong takes my cell phone wide-eyed.
“I do not understand. There was nothing new in the speech you just gave.”
“Not because of the speech, but because the news spread that we were at the event, the market jumped. If you look here, the price has gone up since 20 minutes ago, right?”
“what? It’s real.”
WHTS Company is an unrivaled company in the cryptocurrency industry. As a representative of the top 10 cryptocurrencies, it was an advantage for them to be mentioned together.
“If I were Taylor Kim, I would try to inflate this issue as much as possible.”
“how?”
“First, we encourage people to take pictures of us standing and talking. And after the event, if you post something meaningful on social media, rumors naturally spread.”
“In the end, we are being used to promote the coin. This is why I didn’t want to come… … .”
“As I said before, I attended the event with the intention of becoming a news item.”
I see Taylor Kim coming down from the stage after finishing her speech before I knew it. The direction we were walking towards was exactly the side of the table where we were sitting.
Seeing his lips twitch, he seems excited about taking pictures with us.
‘Enjoy it to the fullest now. Sooner or later you’ll regret taking pictures with us.’