Behold Arscoin the Custom Coin of ArsTechnica

This seems like a pretty good idea, though what is their actual return on investment?? 

The existing Bitcoin community has an inherent distrust of many altcoins. Bitcoin forums are replete with discussions of “pump and dump” scams, where the originators of a new altcoin might “pre-mine” coins, release their currency to the general public, and market their hot new cryptocurrency hard in order to drive the price up. Then the creators simply sell off their coins at a profit and walk away. It’s one of the oldest financial tricks in the book.

Pump and Dump, sounds like a good Saturday night.  Seriously though, most "get rich quick" people see these alternative coins as a way to get on top of the pyramid this time.  They can mine for some easy coins and sell them off when the value goes up. 

Its basically farming penny stocks in the digital world using your high-end gaming PC instead of playing Borderlands or Titanfall.

The sad thing is, Bitcoin is the only semi-legit cryptocurrency so most of these people mine the alternative coins only to trade the value for existing Bitcoin.  Then assuming the Bitcoin exchanges stay afloat you can sell them for real money so you can buy real stuff.

Related Web URL: http://arstechnica.com/business/2014/03/behold-ars...