In support of its Initial Coin Offering (ICO), which was officially announced on February 5, the cryptocurrency Bitcoiin2Gen has reportedly found a new celebrity ambassador in Steven Seagal. That’s according to an official press release from the organization, which dubs the long-time actor a “believer of Bitcoiin2Gen.” For clarity, it isn’t necessarily unusual for a company responsible for launching a new cryptocurrency to enlist the help of celebrities or well-known personalities. However, it is something that is generally not taken without a healthy dose of skepticism by the cryptocurrency community. In fact, this particular company is already raising red flags for that community, with or without Seagal’s endorsement.
For starters, Bitcoiin2Gen has not only chosen its name as a way to refer back to the original cryptocurrency – namely, Bitcoin – launched by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008. It also claims to take direct inspiration from that effort and to want to improve on it in terms of both security and speed of transactions. Unfortunately, the company hasn’t provided any details about how it plans to accomplish that aside from revealing that it plans to make use of the Ethereum blockchain. It simply asserts that its system will be safer and faster, projecting that it can become the third most popular cryptocurrency by the end of the year. The company claims it will be able to accomplish that by being a “self-sustaining” cryptocurrency, which will have its own eco-system, wallet, mining machines, and the ability to exchange for altcoins for FIAT currencies. Making matters worse, it has outlined a four-level structure for commissions for those mining Bitcoiin2Gen during the ICO – paying a percentage of commissions based on referrals in what looks suspiciously like a pyramid scheme. It likely doesn’t help inspire confidence that the SEC has officially cautioned potential investors against buying cryptocurrencies that are backed by celebrities.
In the meantime, the company says that Seagal is an extension of its long-term commitment toward the community, highlighting the actors physical training, purported enlightenment, and self-reliance. Those traits, it claims, fall in line with the claimed goals of the company, as listed above. With that said, cryptocurrency falls or rises on the trust of the more general tech community and while it remains to be seen if Bitcoiin2Gen will fall flat, things aren’t looking up at this point.