Michael Weber, a known figure in cryptocurrency scams, has launched Vitae Rain Chat, a scheme that combines a revenue-sharing Ponzi with the Vitae token. This new venture targets individuals primarily in developing nations, a strategy consistent with Weber's past operations. The platform, which began as a social network rewarding users with Vitae tokens, has now evolved into a multi-level marketing structure.

Vitae Rain Chat operates without any tangible products or services for external sale. Instead, participants can purchase $25 adcredits, which are then used to display advertisements solely to other Vitae Rain Chat affiliates. This internal advertising system forms the basis of the platform's economic activity, creating a closed loop for its members.

The core of Vitae Rain Chat’s structure is a Ponzi scheme that distributes Vitae tokens through periodic "rain" events. These events occur every six minutes and are triggered by any affiliate sending a message in the chatroom. The last two hundred affiliates to participate in the chat receive these distributed tokens. Funds for these distributions are generated from new paid affiliate memberships and a reserve of Vitae tokens. Affiliates can also earn tokens by watching advertisements or through direct deposits made by other affiliates to the designated "rain address."

Recruitment is a key component of the compensation plan. Vitae Rain Chat affiliates earn a $5 commission for each new paid affiliate they recruit. This commission is distributed across three levels of recruitment within a unilevel structure: 50% goes to the direct recruiter (level 1), while the remaining 25% is split between levels 2 and 3. This incentivizes aggressive expansion of the affiliate base.

The revenue-sharing model is funded by monthly membership fees of $14.99 and the purchase of $25 adcredit bundles. These collected funds are then divided equally among all paid Vitae Rain Chat affiliates. This system relies on a continuous influx of new members and adcredit purchases to sustain payouts to existing affiliates.

Affiliate membership for Vitae Rain Chat costs $14.99 per month. The platform initially presented itself as a social network rewarding users with Vitae tokens. However, the value of these tokens was largely artificial, generated by Weber on demand. This approach proved insufficient for significant profit, leading to the current iteration as a full-blown Ponzi and pyramid scheme.

Vitae tokens, initially considered worthless, have seen their value fluctuate. After a period of trading around $1, the Vitae token's value has reportedly risen to $2.65, coinciding with the launch of Vitae Rain Chat. However, the token's utility remains limited to the Vitae social network and the Vitae Rain Chat Ponzi, raising serious questions about its intrinsic value. Any price appreciation is likely driven by speculative trading among affiliates eager to offload tokens within the platform's internal exchange.

The business model of Vitae Rain Chat can be classified as a hybrid Ponzi pyramid. A promotional video for the platform features the recurring lyric "free to join," which is misleading. While a free membership tier exists, it is severely restricted, allowing users to post only one phrase, "I love Vitae," per hour and exposing them to constant advertisements. This limited free access serves primarily as a marketing tactic to funnel users into the paid $14.99 monthly membership. This paid membership unlocks commission opportunities on new recruits and a share of adcredit purchases.

Vietnam issued a fraud warning against Vitae in June 2020. Traffic data from Vitae's primary website, vitae.co, indicates that a significant portion of its visitors originate from India (34%) and Vietnam (14%), suggesting these regions are primary targets for the scheme. Michael Weber has a history of involvement in fraudulent schemes, including X100K, PIF2Cash, Coin Nuggets, and BitConnect, appearing on scam alert sites since 2015.