EtherLink, an entity claiming to offer cryptocurrency lending, appears to be a rebrand of LendConnect, an ICO lending Ponzi scheme that collapsed in March 2018. The EtherLink website, first registered on April 5, 2015, updated its anonymous domain ownership on April 5, 2018, coinciding with the shift in operations.
The EtherLink whitepaper, accessible directly from its website, is titled "LendConnect v.3.0." This document directly links the new platform to the older scheme. Further confirmation emerged from the LendConnect website itself, which posted a "re-branding confirmed" announcement on March 19.
LendConnect operated as an ICO lending Ponzi scheme, launching in late 2017. Its associated LCT points token saw a peak value of $40 in January 2018 before plummeting to just 5 cents. Daily trading volume for LCT points often fell below $10 in the weeks leading up to its March collapse. Such schemes typically promise high, fixed daily returns, far exceeding legitimate investment opportunities. They rely on a continuous influx of new investor capital to pay off earlier participants, a hallmark of a Ponzi structure. The collapse of BitConnect in January 2018, which similarly promised daily returns on cryptocurrency lending, served as a prominent warning for the sector.
EtherLink offers no tangible products or services for retail customers. Its business model relies solely on recruiting new affiliates, who then invest their own funds. This absence of external revenue generation means all payouts must originate from new investor money.
Affiliates provide EtherLink's anonymous operators with Ethereum. In return, they are promised a daily return on investment (ROI) ranging from 1.5% to 5%. Investment tiers dictate the specific ROI and duration: a $100 to $999.99 investment yields a daily ROI for 120 days, capped at 155% monthly. Larger investments, up to $100,000, offer incrementally higher daily bonuses and shorter investment periods. The largest tier, for investments between $50,000 and $100,000, promises a daily ROI plus a 0.3% daily bonus for 60 days, capped at 164.3% monthly. A 4% commission is paid on funds invested by directly recruited affiliates.
Membership for EtherLink affiliates is free, but this only allows for earning referral commissions. To fully participate in the promised income opportunity, an affiliate must invest a minimum of $100.
The complete absence of ownership or operational details on the EtherLink website presents a significant red flag for potential investors. Anonymous entities frequently operate beyond the reach of financial regulators, making accountability and asset recovery nearly impossible in cases of scheme collapse. This lack of transparency contrasts sharply with regulated financial platforms, which must disclose key personnel and company registration. In 2017 and 2018, the regulatory environment for cryptocurrency lending platforms was largely undefined, allowing many unregistered entities to solicit funds globally, often sidestepping traditional securities laws.
EtherLink advertises itself as "the world's first Ethereum-based lending platform." But this claim is inaccurate, as numerous lending platforms since BitConnect have utilized ERC20 tokens. The operators also stated an intention to convert LendConnect into a "fully functional exchange," allowing the listing and trading of LCT and "every other lending coin in existence." The stated purpose was for transaction fees to sustain ROI payments.
However, using transaction fees to sustain high, fixed daily ROIs for a lending Ponzi scheme presents an inherent flaw. Such fees rarely generate sufficient volume to cover the promised returns, especially once new investment slows. The rapid decline of LCT points from $40 to 5 cents illustrates the typical outcome for participants who fail to withdraw their funds before the scheme collapses.