Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Analyzing the Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme Ecosystem

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Financial Cryptography and Data Security (FC 2018)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNSC,volume 10958))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

This paper analyzes the supply and demand for Bitcoin-based Ponzi schemes. There are a variety of these types of scams: from long cons such as Bitcoin Savings & Trust to overnight doubling schemes that do not take off. We investigate what makes some Ponzi schemes successful and others less so. By scouring 11 424 threads on bitcointalk.org, we identify 1 780 distinct scams. Of these, half lasted a week or less. Using survival analysis, we identify factors that affect scam persistence. One approach that appears to elongate the life of the scam is when the scammer interacts a lot with their victims, such as by posting more than a quarter of the comments in the related thread. By contrast, we also find that scams are shorter-lived when the scammers register their account on the same day that they post about their scam. Surprisingly, more daily posts by victims is associated with the scam ending sooner.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5.

  2. 2.

    This list was curated by bitcointalk user mem here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=75883.0.

References

  1. Bartoletti, M., Carta, S., Cimoli, T., Saia, R.: Dissecting Ponzi schemes on Ethereum: identification, analysis, and impact. arXiv preprint arXiv:1703.03779 (2017)

  2. Bohr, J., Bashir, M.: Who uses Bitcoin? an exploration of the Bitcoin community. In: Twelfth Annual International Conference on Privacy, Security and Trust, pp. 94–101. IEEE (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Drew, J., Moore, T.: Automatic identification of replicated criminal websites using combined clustering. In: International Workshop on Cyber Crime, pp. 116–123. IEEE (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Fleder, M., Kester, M.S., Pillai, S.: Bitcoin transaction graph analysis. arXiv preprint arXiv:1502.01657 (2015)

  5. Liao, K., Zhao, Z., Doupé, A., Ahn, G.-J.: Behind closed doors: measurement and analysis of a CryptoLocker ransoms in Bitcoin. In: Eleventh APWG eCrime Researcher’s Summit, June 2016

    Google Scholar 

  6. Maurer, B., Nelms, T.C., Swartz, L.: “When perhaps the real problem is money itself!”: the practical materiality of Bitcoin. Soc. Semiot. 23(2), 261–277 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Moore, T., Han, J., Clayton, R.: The postmodern ponzi scheme: empirical analysis of high-yield investment programs. In: Keromytis, A.D. (ed.) FC 2012. LNCS, vol. 7397, pp. 41–56. Springer, Heidelberg (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-32946-3_4

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  8. Neisius, J., Clayton, R.: Orchestrated crime: the high yield investment fraud ecosystem. In: Proceedings of the Eighth APWG eCrime Researcher’s Summit, Birmingham, AL, September 2014

    Google Scholar 

  9. Resnick, P., Kuwabara, K., Zeckhauser, R., Friedman, E.: Reputation systems. Commun. ACM 43(12), 45–48 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Shen, W., Hu, Y.J., Ulmer, J.R.: Competing for attention: an empirical study of online reviewers’ strategic behavior. MIS Quart. 39(3), 683–696 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Soska, K., Christin, N.: Measuring the longitudinal evolution of the online anonymous marketplace ecosystem. In: USENIX Security Symposium, pp. 33–48 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Vasek, M., Moore, T.: There’s no free lunch, even using bitcoin: tracking the popularity and profits of virtual currency scams. In: Böhme, R., Okamoto, T. (eds.) FC 2015. LNCS, vol. 8975, pp. 44–61. Springer, Heidelberg (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-47854-7_4

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  13. Vasek, M., Thornton, M., Moore, T.: Empirical analysis of denial-of-service attacks in the bitcoin ecosystem. In: Böhme, R., Brenner, M., Moore, T., Smith, M. (eds.) FC 2014. LNCS, vol. 8438, pp. 57–71. Springer, Heidelberg (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-44774-1_5

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  14. Xie, P., Chen, H., Hu, Y.J.: Network structure and predictive power of social media for the Bitcoin market (2017). https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2894089

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Computer Science, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA

    Marie Vasek

  2. Tandy School of Computer Science, The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, USA

    Tyler Moore

Authors
  1. Marie Vasek
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Tyler Moore
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marie Vasek .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel

    Aviv Zohar

  2. Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel

    Ittay Eyal

  3. University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia

    Vanessa Teague

  4. Concordia University, Beaconsfield, QC, Canada

    Jeremy Clark

  5. Computer Science and Mathematics, Stirling University, Stirling, UK

    Andrea Bracciali

  6. Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Federico Pintore

  7. Department of Mathematics, University of Trento, Trento, Italy

    Massimiliano Sala

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 International Financial Cryptography Association

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Vasek, M., Moore, T. (2019). Analyzing the Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme Ecosystem. In: Zohar, A., et al. Financial Cryptography and Data Security. FC 2018. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 10958. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-58820-8_8

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-58820-8_8

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-58819-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-58820-8

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation