Former Bitconnect investor and promoter Trevon James is now claiming he spoke to the FBI about the now-defunct exchange and his involvement with the project.
In a YouTube video posted Monday, James further confirmed that he will be testifying about his role with the project in 10 days, though he did not specify what type of hearing this would be. That said, he indicated his knowledge of the exchange was limited, and that he did have any information about its plans or roadmap.
James said he expected his testimony to be similar to the 90-minute conversation he claims to have had with the FBI agent, wherein he explained his experience with Bitconnect as a user.
He continued, saying, “I’m glad that I don’t know anything so that means there’s no proof that I knew anything.”
However, his testimony may not be strictly related to Bitconnect’s shutdown or its operations, he said, adding:
“It’s really about the SEC. Testimony is really important you know, for the entire crypto space because … it’s about securities. Is Bitconnect a security, are cryptocurrencies, can they be considered securities? That’s what it’s about, it’s not about whether I scammed people.”
“It’s about whether Bitconnect is a security and whether I knew,” James concluded.
Stepping back, the SEC has been opening up on its attitudes toward token sales of late, allegedly issuing a plethora of subpoenas to startups that have launched initial coin offerings (ICOs). It is unclear what information the agency is looking for or which groups have received the legal documentation so far.
Still, the move also comes weeks after chairman Jay Clayton described every token sale as a securities sale, and James’ comments shed additional light on what has so far been an opaque investigation.
So far, no token sale has been registered with the SEC, Clayton said at the time, though he followed up by stating he would like to draw more of a distinction between cryptocurrencies and ICOs.
“ICOs that are securities offerings, we should regulate them like we regulate securities offerings. End of story,” he said.
The FBI did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
See Our Original Article On The Collapse Of BitConnect Below:
In all fairness, for our readers who have been following our posts we had been warning that both BitConnect & USI-Tech were destined to fail miserably.
BitConnect’s collapse in many ways has been more dramatic than the slower implosion of USI-Tech. Like its Dubai-based counterpart, BitConnect operated with a multilevel marketing structure, much like a vitamin or cosmetic company. Investors would receive the company’s own cryptocurrency on loan and obtain bonuses for signing up new people.
How is BitConnect still able to advertise? This is a google ad from today..
BIT CON: BitconTre & The Collapse Of Bitconnect
Article by Spencer Kellog • Edited by CryptoClarified
From Spencer:
“In 2016, we were all still on Poloniex and Tre would point his camera at the slate-colored charts to explain his strategies or show newcomers what it looked like to participate in the exploding world of online crypto trading. For beginners like me, Tre came off as a benevolent guy who was ready to help make you rich. By the beginning of 2017, Tre could be seen daily promoting high-interest returns on BTC loans through a project called Bitconnect. Whether out of an innate skepticism or because I was overwhelmed by the hundreds of other cryptocurrencies to research, I never did look up Bitconnect.”
When it launched into the Top 20 of CoinMarketCap this Fall (Bitconnect CoinMarketCap) I felt sick to my stomach. Bitconnect? That thing that Tre was always shilling, the project that had scam written all over it, had hit pay dirt and I didn’t own one of them! Only two months later, after the closure of Bitconnect (Bitconnect Ponzi Scheme), Tre’s close ties as chief promoter of the maligned project has made him the center of critique and anger throughout the community.
At its heart, Bitconnect was a “lending platform” that allowed passive income by providing Bitcoin loans through the Bitconnect platform. A user could send their Bitcoin to the Bitconnect platform, make a trade for Bitconnect tokens (BCC) and then lend out those tokens to other users at an interest rate of more than 40% a day over the first two years of operation. Tre gloated regularly about his returns but for most of us, something never quite added up. By the time Carlos Matos snorted a mountain of cocaine and dropped his worst Steve Ballmer impression on the cryptocommunity (BITCONNNECCTTT), the writing was clearly on the wall for any reasoned investor.
At its height, Bitconnect garnered a $2.5 Billion market cap and an ever-increasing amount of scrutiny with many users in the cryptocommunity warning newcomers of the platform and roundly calling for its delisting from CoinMarketCap.com. After American securities regulators sent cease and desist letters to Bitconnect in early January, the market was sent spiraling and within a week the valuation of the service had dropped dramatically to less than $150 Million sending investors and speculators into a feeding frenzy of blame and anger that sat Bitcoin Tre front and center.
A cursory glance at Tre’s output (Bitcoin Tre Youtube) will tell you most of what you need to know about Tre: he doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about. His stylized youtube channel mixed with his singular personality in the Bitcoin world is reminiscent of other hype men like Michael Suppo “Suppoman” (Suppoman Youtube). As a result, for as long as I’ve followed Tre, he has been dogged by claims that he is a scammer by some while others simply poke fun at his hyperbolic and constant uploads of crypto hype thinly disguised as analysis. When the bottom fell out, many in the community pointed their vitriol directly at the man who could be seen every day pumping up speculators on the Bitconnect project. In his rambling, crazed, “final rant” on Bitconnect (TRE BITCONNECT RANT)
A brief moment of honesty below: “You didn’t lose all your money. Ok.. technically you kind of lost all your money.”
Trevon James @BitcoinTre sends a message to all his BitConnect referrals @bitconnect pic.twitter.com/nVjVZCWe6H
— Jacob Breen (@array_boy) January 21, 2018
Tre stumbles his way, awkwardly looking out the window, through a half-assed non-apology to the people who followed his advice and invested tens of thousands of dollars into his pet hype project only to see their money burnt to a crisp in a span of less than 72 hours. Some have given Tre the benefit of the doubt but I find it hard to believe this is one simple little mistake. For example, in the video information from the above link, you can see Tre promoting another alleged scam with a link to the lending platform Davor which has been routinely called out on Twitter in recent weeks for its shady dealings.
Tre himself had suggested that he was being blacklisted and attacked because of racial and social differences in the majority whitewashed cryptocommunity. While the community is defiantly white ivy league types, I knew his appeal was a falsity. As the infamous Ben Shapiro quote reads “Capitalism only care about one color – green” and Bitcoin Tre’s appeal to SJW tendencies did little to quiet the skeptics. In the world of high-risk anyone can become a millionaire.
While dreams are made every day, more suckers are born every minute. Crypto con men lure new investors and speculators into the dim alleys of crypto while receiving kickbacks and dark bounties for promoting projects that stalwart crypto investors wouldn’t touch if it was given away. In a space that is littered with false promises and moon projections, new investors should be wary of those who seek to take advantage of their hard earned money with promises of glory. Before you buy your next asset, recognize that people like Bitcoin Tre are piranhas that swim in the muddy waters of the crypto boom and you’re their next target.
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