volatility of Bitcoin, which its value was tied to. The Bitconnect Coin was among the world's top 20 most successful cryptocurrency tokens until its price collapsed after traders began losing confidence. BCC rose from a post ICO price of $0.17 to an all-time high of US$463 in December 2017; it declined to US$0.40 as of March 11, 2019. Bitconnect released outstanding loans at a rate of US$363.62 to the Bitconnect Wallet in form of BCC. However, soon after that news the internal exchange price and liquidity collapsed resulting in a nearly complete loss of value. Legal issues On January 16, 2018, Bitconnect announced it would shut down its cryptocurrency exchange and lending operation after regulators from Texas and North Carolina issued a cease and desist order against it. On January 31, 2018, a U.S. District Court, Western District of Kentucky, granted a temporary restraining order freezing Bitconnect's assets and "to disclose cryptocurrency wallet and trading account addresses, as well as the identities of anyone to whom Bitconnect has sent digital currencies within the last 90 days". In September 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Bitconnect, alongside its founder Indian Satish Kumbhani, American Glenn Arcaro who served as Bitconnect's lead national promoter in the United States from August 2017 to January 2018, and Future Money LTD, a company Arcaro created to lure into Bitconnect's lending program. The SEC alleged that Bitconnect defrauded U.S. investors a total of $2 billion. Parallel to SEC civil charges, the United States Department of Justice had initiated criminal charges against Arcaro. On September 1, 2021, Arcaro pleaded guilty of criminal charges pressed by DOJ which includes conspiracy to commit wire fraud and criminal forfeiture. The DOJ also indicted Kumbhani on various federal charges in February 2022, including money laundering and fraud. Internet meme On October 28, 2017, Bitconnect held its first (and only) annual ceremony in Pattaya, Thailand. During the event, an investor named Carlos Matos from New York City gave an exuberant presentation and testimonial about the website, which included him intensely screaming "Bitconnect" several times; the scene quickly became an Internet meme. Both Matos' meme and the questionable practices of Bitconnect were profiled by John Oliver and Keegan-Michael Key on the program Last Week Tonight. See also List of cryptocurrencies OneCoin PlusToken USI Tech References External links (last archived version, 28 November 2018) Blockchains Cryptocurrency projects Internet memes introduced in 2018 Crypto