SAFCOIN released this week and there seems to be a lot of suspicion surrounding it. People can’t decide if it’s a cryptocurrency worth investing in, or just another scam. In this post, we will be looking into SAFCOIN and the team behind it.
SAFCOIN Launches!
On December 13, 2018, SAFCOIN launched after the ICO period ended on the 31st of October 2018. Now, everyone that missed out on the ICO is able to get involved.
What an exciting year it has been for us. We are proud to be part of the blockchain and crypto revolution. We are excited to bring the SAFCOIN blockchain, mobile app and exchange to the people of South Africa.
Neil Ferreira, Co-Founder and CEO of the SAFCOIN founding company, FHM (PTY) Ltd.
During the ICO period, many people doubted if SAFCOIN would even launch due to the wave of ICO scams in the crypto space. Inevitably, this makes it difficult for real start-ups to enter the market successfully.
Claiming they aim to tap into numerous ways crypto can positively impact Africa, Ferreira states:
We are not here to overthrow the existing financial system but rather tap into the numerous benefits of crypto for Africa by developing use case technology for every individual to benefit from the positives of crypto-currency. All whilst maintaining the highest levels of business ethics and standards
But is this suspicion justified? Let’s take a deeper look into some red flags surrounding SAFCOIN.
Red Flags
Now technically, what SAFCOIN is doing isn’t illegal, but it will most likely end in tears. No question. They pre-sold 500,000 SAFCOIN at an ICO for R70 ($4.89), then another 5.5 million tokens will flood the market. Effectively, the market will be flooded with these tokens with no use case, and sellers will eventually drive the price down to zero.
With no mining method except a vague promise that it will eventually come, we can expect 5.5 million pre-mined coins. Effectively, at R88 a token, and a total supply of 6 million tokens; they give themselves a market cap of R528 million without an actual product. This isn’t always a bad thing, not all coins can be mined, but with no personal information on anyone involved with the project, it looks shady.
Taken directly from their website, this is the extent of their team description:
SAFCOIN was created by a group of South African crypto enthusiasts and entrepreneurs with incredible market knowledge of the technical world in programming, networking, online trading and exchange.
As well as this, their whitepaper says nothing with any substance. For example, they refer to their auditor, without actually naming them. This in itself is not a bad thing, and could just be an oversight.
Safcoin scam
And the auditor details ?! pic.twitter.com/xB8nApEFut
— Simon Brown (@SimonPB) July 24, 2018
Red flag 2
Most of both the SAFCOIN whitepaper and website is just bold statements and buzzwords; all without substantial explanations of what SAFCOIN is going to bring to the table. With claims of gradually becoming a widely accepted form of payment without any reason why this may be it becomes clear that SAFCOIN isn’t being genuine. In fact, in reading SAFCOIN whitepaper, it raises more questions than it answers. No wonder they removed the whitepaper from their website.
SAFCOIN seem to constantly apply FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) techniques in order to gain more popularity. Neil Ferreira uses terms such as ‘missed out opportunity’ and ‘late sleepers’ to encourage South Africans to hop aboard before it’s too late, and “be part of history and wealth”.
At one point, Ferreira stated:
The start-up phase is the most lucrative time to invest in cryptocurrencies, but Africans have missed the boat on many of the global start-up opportunities
He is subtly referencing the Bitcoin rush of 2017 as a missed opportunity to gain massive returns on their investment. Ferreira’s main goal seems to be to encourage Africans to “secure their wealth” by investing in SAFCOIN.
Back-peddling
Highly Respected South African news outlet, the Daily Maverick appeared to have felt duped. They posted a blog post about the ICO for SAFCOIN, claiming it was a promising start-up. The tweet promoting the post went live on September 26, 2018. The Daily Maverick were quick to remove the blog post from their website due to the backlash from the community claiming SAFCOIN is a scam. {be careful when you read sponsored articles, many Security Token Offerings use this tactic}.
South Africans get first dibs on SAFCOIN, an exclusive African cryptocurrency https://t.co/VYGCEdmpRr By SAFCOIN pic.twitter.com/WUYXUHIED4
— Daily Maverick (@dailymaverick) September 26, 2018
After suffering a constant barrage from cryptocurrency enthusiasts on Twitter, the SAFCOIN twitter account decided to reply to some backlash. While this practice is common, SAFCOIN may be a bit too emotionally invested with their response.
https://twitter.com/SAFCOIN1/status/1021690553069699072
Our Conclusion on SAFCOIN
The entire SAFCOIN project looks like an obstacle course full of confusion and hurdles. We always advise the community to do their own due diligence into any cryptocurrency, else simply stay as far away from it as possible. If you’re looking to invest in something other than Bitcoin, there are many other altcoins that are less risky alternatives such as Cardano, Dash, Litecoin and many more.
Leave a comment below to let us know what you think!
