back to article Paris Hilton inflates cryptocurrency bubble some more, backs Initial Coin Offering

Just in case we were in any doubt that we were in a crypto bubble, Paris Hilton has announced she will back an Initial Coin Offering venture. On Sunday, the famous "heir-head" tweeted she was participating in the upcoming "LydianCoin" ICO. Looking forward to participating in the new @LydianCoinLtd Token!  #ThisIsNotAnAd # …

  1. Camilla Smythe

    Lydian tokens are intended to allow people to buy advertising campaigns.

    WTAF?

    1. Dave 126 Silver badge

      Re: Lydian tokens are intended to allow people to buy advertising campaigns.

      You could read their whitepaper (link below), but I'm not sure you'll make much more sense of it than I did.

      The section titled "Why use Lydian tokens to purchase services available to purchase with fiat currency" doesn't offer any clues.

      There were some words about using the blockchain to ensure that people paying to advertise weren't defrauded... and something about a browser that lets end users exchange Lydian tokens for an ad-free browsing experienced. However, the latter isn't directly related to this offering.

      https://www.slideshare.net/mobile/gurbakshchahal/lydian-whitepaper-81517-draft

      1. Camilla Smythe

        Re: Lydian tokens are intended to allow people to buy advertising campaigns.

        https://www.slideshare.net/mobile/gurbakshchahal/lydian-whitepaper-81517-draft

        WHUT!1?1!

        You will have to 'trust' me but my opinion would be that that is an utter and complete load of Shit Bollocks.

        1. Chris G

          Re: Lydian tokens are intended to allow people to buy advertising campaigns.

          On this! You have my trust Camilla, this is almost like standing in the street and shouting 'give me money get sod all back!'

          1. Camilla Smythe

            Re: Lydian tokens are intended to allow people to buy advertising campaigns.

            Do Not Worry. Some hedge fund manager will invest your pension money in it and get a bonus when things go tits up.

          2. Antron Argaiv Silver badge
            Happy

            Re: Lydian tokens are intended to allow people to buy advertising campaigns.

            [Roy from The IT Crowd voice]

            "Well, if you can't trust Paris Hilton, then who can you trust?"

        2. Dan 55 Silver badge

          Re: Lydian tokens are intended to allow people to buy advertising campaigns.

          It's not the final draft, I'm sure the final draft is crystal clear.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Lydian tokens are intended to allow people to buy advertising campaigns.

      It's a gift certificate wrapped in a get-rich-quick scheme. Not so hard to understand.

    3. Antron Argaiv Silver badge
      Paris Hilton

      Re: Lydian tokens are intended to allow people to buy advertising campaigns.

      but...#This IsNotAnAd

      In spite of Paris' glowing endorsement and excited participation, I can't quite grasp how this is anything more than a tarted-up prepay scheme for (advertising) services from a company (Gravity4) of dubious reputation.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    so is this some kind of wank bank?

    1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge
      Coat

      I put cash into the wank bank. But it all got messy, when I had to make a withdrawal.

      1. Mark 85

        But was a good time had by all?

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Did you make her scream when you spent your deposit on the new curtains?

        (Did I get my jokes mixed up?)

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Will this be stimulating growth in the private sector?

    1. ElReg!comments!Pierre

      So much growth...

      ... that it will soon go public !

      1. Teiwaz
        Go

        Re: So much growth...

        ... that it will soon go public !

        pubic at least...

    2. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

      Live Operational Virtual Environments Meets and Greets 50 Shades of Grey Zerodays

      Will this be stimulating growth in the private sector? .... Anonymous Coward

      I would add this also be Stimulating Simulating Growth in the Private Pirate Sector/Vector. There may be known to Paris but IntelAIgents would never pry of participations therein.

      What goes on in Private Pirate Centres stays and plays out in Private Pirate Centres to XSSXXXX.

      That's for all those enamoured of a walk on the wwwild side of Life in LOVE with ESPecial Forces entertaining Immaculate Sources for Helter Skelter AIRides.

      And that is us musing on AI Platforms and Vessels for Travel in Initial Coin Offering Ventures, n'est ce pas

      1. Tom 64
        Paris Hilton

        Re: Live Operational Virtual Environments Meets and Greets 50 Shades of Grey Zerodays

        You know it's garbage when the whitepaper makes less sense than amanfrommars

  4. a_yank_lurker

    Cryptocurrencies and their Ilk

    I am wary of any cryptocurrency and their ilk. Not because of any inherent flaw or concerns over them as an exchange media. But because I do not trust governments to make them illegal, which I expect to happen fairly soon 'to protect the ...'; in reality to protect our corrupt overlords.

    1. MonkeyCee

      Re: Cryptocurrencies and their Ilk

      "But because I do not trust governments to make them illegal"

      You could look at what various governments are actually doing.

      Mainly they have decided that crypto is either property or a financial product, and seek to regulate it under applicable laws. Thus it falls under money laundering notification laws, same as if you purchased bars of silver, and you usually owe some form of tax if you convert it to fiat.

      Because it is considered a form of money*, it's regulated as such. Raising capital for a new venture has various rules around doing so. This is what the concern over ICOs are from a governance perspective.

      An ICO allows you to "go public" without actually doing all that annoying regulatory filing and reporting, which removes many protections that should be in place between retail investors and companies seeking capital.

      I'm sure it's "disruptive" and "innovative", but it's just the same old story of flouting the current laws for profit. From Apple/MS/Google's creative tax arrangements, Uber's passenger protections and AirBnB's respect for zoning laws, being tech means being fast enough to break the law on a large enough scale that by the time you get caught, the law abiding businesses have already started to bite the dust and your lawyers can draw it out until you are the default supplier.

      I have no fear of the government declaring crypto illegal. But I'm pretty certain they'll want to tax it :)

      * the debate about "what is money" is a pretty huge subject. Whether gold is money, despite being part of central bank deposits, is still debated by economists.

  5. macjules
    Paris Hilton

    .. she will back an Initial Coin Offering ..

    "Paris Hilton has announced she will back an Initial Coin Offering venture."

    Does she actually understand that? Icon .. well, you have to don't you?

    1. SVV

      Re: .. she will back an Initial Coin Offering ..

      I think she understood the initial amount of actual dollars offering that was probably made to her to promote (not "back") the Initial Coin of Vapour Offering.

      Can't really blame her for that can you?

  6. druck Silver badge
    Coat

    PonziCoin

    An Initial Coin Offering is different from ponzi scheme how?

    1. Andrew Moore

      Re: PonziCoin

      Spelling

    2. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge
      Unhappy

      Re: PonziCoin

      Because Paris Hilton has deeply studied the prospectus, and given it a clean bill of health.

      Come on! What more recommendation do you need?!?!

    3. MonkeyCee
      Holmes

      Re: PonziCoin

      A Ponzi scheme involves paying back at least your initial investors, typically from new investors deposits, and representing that you actually own assets.

      ICO just involves you getting cash for the "assets" that may or may not be worthless.

      It's more boiler room than Ponzi, in the scheme of things....

  7. jake Silver badge

    Sounds like a good thing to stay well away from.

    I mean, there is a good reason that her own Grandfather disinherited the bint.

    ElReg, isn't it about time you replaced the icon? I mean, seriously, it was funny once. About 10 years ago. These days, maybe not so much. I think "tired" is the word I am looking for.

  8. Teiwaz

    Want her Face on a coin

    Maybe she's hoping for an offer...

  9. DROP DATABASE

    Just one more straw!

    JENGA!

  10. Denarius
    Coat

    history

    Southern hemisphere: check

    Remember, we will always have Paris

    My coats the one with 50 Worst Movies of All Time in pocket

  11. disgruntled yank

    Interesting

    I believe that Joseph Kennedy said that when he heard the shoeshine boy in the lobby of his office building giving out stock tips, he decided that matters were out of hand and that the market was about to crash. Is this endorsement a similar omen for blockchain currency?

    1. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

      Re: Interesting

      Howdy, disgruntled yank,

      Others at their work, rest and play in the Great Game, and of a completely different frame of mind, would be realising the novel markets are about to take off, with crashes reserved for that and those forced to remain wedded to fiat paper which is no more than just counterfeit confetti in real terms.

  12. Stevie

    Bah!

    I'm rather less excited than Ms Hilton.

    Perhaps she could explain her glee so as to interest those of us who need more than 140 characters of hype.

  13. PeterM42
    Holmes

    If...

    ...it LOOKS like a Ponzi scheme

    and SMELLS like a Ponzi scheme......

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