Ethereum Multi-Level Marketing Schemes: Into The Rabbit Hole

How Curiosity Led Me Down A Path To Discovering Shady Smart Contracts

Disclaimer: I am not recommending or endorsing any of the schemes outlined in this article.

Research

With the rise of Ethereum, Smart Contracts, and the DeFi space most recently; I like many, have become fascinated by the potential that Blockchain technology has to disrupt every industry on earth.

Due to its infancy, the space is not regulated in most of the world. The reality is that many governments have no idea where to even start. It’s a new frontier for everyone involved. The Wild West. Naturally, this makes for the perfect breeding ground for anyone with nefarious motives and the technical skills to pull something shady off.

I started digging around to see if there were any known cases of successful Ponzi schemes on the Ethereum network. Amazingly, I found a paper which analysed exactly what I was looking for.

The Study

Bartoletti, Carta, Cimoli and Saia’s paper: Dissecting Ponzi schemes on Ethereum: identification, analysis, and impact analyses almost two hundred suspected Ponzi schemes on the Ethereum network and proposes classifications depending on behavioural themes.

I was fascinated with the study, so I started writing about it. Read part one here.