Initiative Q: tomorrow’s payment network or today’s scam?
“Initiative Q is an attempt by ex-PayPal guys to create a new payment system…”. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you would have definitely come across this message on your social media platforms asking you to sign up using a referral link. This is the latest buzzing trend, where people are trying to collect Qs instead of pokemon. So what is Initiative Q? Will this make you the next Q Millionaire? Next big thing or one big fraud?
Initiative Q is a speculative payment network founded by Israeli Entrepreneur Saar Wilf claiming to offer Qs which is its digital currency. The goal of finding the next global currency was kick-started with the immense blow-up of bitcoin, with investors raking in huge payouts thanks to the meteoric rise in price. Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency without any central bank tracking it. It’s fast, discreet and accountable, with an underlying blockchain technology. Q is not a cryptocurrency. Cryptos have been criticized for the massive computing power and energy required for their use and distribution. By contrast, Qs are distributed via sign-ups and referrals. Cryptos are unstable and do not have the blessings of financial regulators. Initiative Q, on the other hand, wants to create a system well within the purview of regulators and provide a stable form of money hitting a target of 1 Q = 1 $.
With today’s advanced payment system and technology, the already existing payment methodologies of Cash and Card system seem old and outdated. Why isn’t there a superior system in place? A payment system is only useful if it’s used by a significant number of both buyers and sellers. Initiative Qs site calls this a “chicken and egg” barrier — where no buyer will join a new payment network with no sellers, and no seller will offer a new payment option that no buyer uses. Initiative Q wants to overcome this barrier by distributing its currency Q for free to early adopters, creating an incentive for its adoption and use.
A viral message, in this instance that of Initiative Q starts with a credibility (trust) factor and introduces an opportunity which evokes your greed. Adds a little fuel into it by offering something to you for free. Uses fear by mentioning what you’ll be missing out on. Reinstates it’s free and adds that the process is easy and effortless. Reassures you with trust and adds more fuel to your greed by offering you the next big thing in this world. Attempts to remind you of your past mistake making you guilty and taps again into your fear. Prompts you with the call to action and hints of scarcity. Uses authority to get the commitment from you asking for a response. And, you fall for it!
Is Initiative Q a pyramid scheme?“ Pyramid Schemes collect money from new members and distribute it to earlier members. In contrast, joining initiative Q is completely free. So, clearly, there is no money to hand up the “pyramid” to earlier members.” their site says. While it does share some of the hallmarks of a pyramid structure, they’re not asking for any money. All they’re asking for is your name and email.
The first thing you notice on their site is a ticker going down with time. This indicates the total Qs you could claim. You can reserve Qs for signing up and referring others. Qs are reserved for future tasks. This raises a red flag as to what tasks are to be done. The site mentions tasks like “ downloading the payment app or making your first purchase”. The Q rewards reserved today are from a supply of 2 Trillion Q. This means that of the rewards would be available for use at a rate of one USD when all Qs reach a value of 2 trillion US dollars.
However, at some point, people will have to convert real money to Qs. How and when this will happen is unclear. If you have a notional amount of Qs in your account, who will finance the transaction which enables the conversion of these Qs for money? As soon as Qs start to gain significant market share, the Q monetary committee will be buying and selling USD in large amounts that can potentially move the Forex markets.
Initiative Q, via its monetary committee, will in effect work as a private central bank. It will buy and sell fiat currencies according to predetermined algorithms with the aim of keeping a certain value over time. Central bankers are accountable to governments, but whom will Q monetary committee be accountable to?
Initiative Q seems to have so many ‘ifs’, that it is very hard to make anything of the initiative or its worthless Qs at the present. Whether Initiative Q is a scam or a revolution, an enforceable idea or simply wishful thinking is something that only time will tell.
