A pyramid scheme is a scheme in which new participants must pay in order to participate in the scheme. New participants are induced to join the scheme by the prospect of receiving payments for recruiting further new participants (Recruitment Payment).

Pyramid schemes rely on profit made from the Recruitment Payments. Merchants who wish to join the Qoin Program are not charged any fees to join and are under no obligation to recruit other merchants or consumers.

Accordingly, the Qoin Program does not fit the definition of a Pyramid Scheme.

What makes Qoin different?

Qoin aims to help business owners use their spare capacity to maximise their earnings potential.

Small business owners account for just 6% of the world’s population, but over 90% of the world’s businesses. However, as much as we may want to shop local and support our small businesses, many simply do not have the resources that their larger, corporate competitors enjoy. Small businesses find it more difficult to offer rewards programs and marketing, which big businesses can use to move spare capacity and maximise revenue on their inventory and service investments.

Most digital currencies remain volatile and can seem untrustworthy, as they are not backed by any central authority or commodity. The decentralised nature of these digital currencies makes them immune to interference, but the lack of regulatory control keeps many business owners sceptical of their potential to improve cash flow.

The Qoin model stands apart from other digital currencies in that the purchasing power of Qoin becomes more powerful as the merchant ecosystem grows. The more businesses that join the Qoin community, the more everyone benefits, providing a vital boost to local economies. Qoin is represented by the goods and services of participating businesses within the ecosystem.

With more than 36,000 validated merchants in Qoin, the result is an ecosystem where digital currency works more favourably for business owners and creates a digital currency tailor-made to sustain cashflow and make the most of their downtime. Qoin enables them to do both while offering a payment method to their customers that is fast, secure, and virtually contactless.

The unique benefits of Qoin

Qoin is one of few digital currencies that can be used to purchase real, everyday goods and services online from participating merchants.

Qoin is based on the Quorum Blockchain, developed with JP Morgan and Microsoft to deliver faster, simpler transactions than most other digital currencies, with all the security afforded by scalable blockchain technologies.

For technical information refer to the Qoin White Paper located here