Initiative Q: A Scam or the Next Big Digital Currency?

What if I told you there’s a new currency being introduced and you can get it for free right now? Sounds like a scam doesn’t it?

That’s exactly what I thought when I heard about Initiative Q. It’s not every day you hear about a new currency, especially if it’s something unrelated to the crypto craze of late 2017/early 2018.

That’s right, you read it correctly, Initiative Q is not a cryptocurrency. This is a major reason why Initiative Q has gained a lot of momentum around the web. It’s also the reason why credible people have fallen for the latest social media scam.

Let me explain it in detail.

What is it?

In simple terms, Initiative Q is a digital payment system that is going to be an alternative to today’s regular currency. Its payment tokens will be called “Q” with its creators aiming to maintain a value equal to $1, meaning 1Q will be equal to $1.

Currently, it doesn’t have any value and is in its initial stages.

You won’t be able to get banknotes of Q, instead, you will use Q to make payments digitally, quite like NFC payments or Apple/Samsung/Google Pay.

All you need to do is walk into a shop, buy something, then scan a QR or RFID code to pay for it.

How Does it Work?

Initiative Q will be regulated by an independent committee with members including finance professionals and people from the early adopters.

Transactions will be authenticated by agents called Q Agents which will ensure that no kind of fraud or scam is involved and Q is securely transferred.

As mentioned earlier, you’ll scan a QR code, or register yourself at an online store and Q will be automatically transferred once you make a purchase.

How to Get Q

For now, you can only get Q once you sign up using an invite from a member. If you sign up using a working invite, you get a fixed amount of Q. According to their website,

At each stage of engagement with Q (initial signup, verification, using the system once it’s ready, etc.) you can claim more Q. It’s important to complete each stage as soon as it’s available, as some tasks have a deadline.

You’ll get more Q as you complete tasks, getting more and more over time. Initial sign-ups get a higher amount of Q, gradually decreasing as more people sign up.

You get free Q if you invite your friends, install the app and engage in other actions that promote  Initiative Q.

Once the payment network goes live, you’ll be able to buy and sell Q for money.

Is it a Scam?

On its surface, it seems like a scam as you’re getting money for free for actually doing nothing. If what they say is true, imagine getting 60,000Q and once the payment network is live, you can cash it out for $60,000 (as 1Q will be equal to $1, according to what they said). Seems like a scam doesn’t it?

Also, the website was keen to point out that it doesn’t have anything to do with cryptocurrency, Initial Coin Offerings, and whatnot. But taking a closer look reveals interesting details. For example,

…some of the concepts behind cryptocurrency are valuable, and may be deployed in Initiative Q’s backend, for settlement between Q agents…

Also, Q will be initially in limited supply (2 trillion Q). A lot of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, are in limited supply, which leads to a constant fluctuation in their value as people buy and sell them.

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, a realistic estimate assuming wide scale adoption, as shown above.

Should You Buy it?

For now, we can’t say anything for sure. It seems equally likely to be a fraud and a legitimate payment system. Plus you’re not really paying anything for the initial Qs when you sign up (they don’t ask for anything more than your name and email too).

One school of thought is that giving up our names and email addresses isn’t a big deal – since they’re already out there. What’s the worst that can happen? If it’s actually legitimate, you get free money! Others think that it’s a digital pyramid scheme meant to harvest data about people who are interested in digital currency.

We’ll know for sure once Initiative Q goes online. Until then, exercise caution and keep Q at an arm’s length if you do sign up.

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