Crime and punishment 3.0

• Vaporware


  Software or hardware products that are announced by a company but never actually released to the market
• Quibi


  A short-form streaming platform launched in April 2020 that aimed to provide high-quality content optimized for mobile viewing
• Luckin Coffee


  A Chinese coffeehouse chain founded in 2017, which quickly rose to become a major competitor to Starbucks in China
• Quibi name


  Stands for "quick bites," reflecting its focus on delivering content in short episodes or segments designed to be consumed on the go
• Luckin Coffee's business model

  • Heavily emphasized mobile ordering, delivery, and a cashless experience
• Luckin Coffee embroiled in a major scandal


  April 2020
• Quibi


  • Founded by Jeffrey Katzenberg, a former Disney executive
  • Led by CEO Meg Whitman
  • Raised significant funding
  • Attracted top talent in the entertainment industry to create exclusive content
• Luckin Coffee had fabricated over $300 million in sales transactions
• The scandal led to investigations by Chinese regulators and the delisting of Luckin Coffee from the NASDAQ stock exchange
• Factors contributing to Quibi's failure

  • Subscription-based model, which launched during a time when many similar services offered free or ad-supported content
  • Timing of its launch coincided with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which limited opportunities for mobile viewing on the go
• Luckin Coffee's founder and several executives were implicated in the fraud, leading to resignations, arrests, and legal actions
• Quibi announced its closure, just six months after its launch


  October 2020
• Luckin Coffee's recovery efforts

  1. Closed numerous stores

  2. Implemented management changes

  3. Sought to rebuild trust with customers and investors
• Nikola Corporation


  American company that focuses on developing zero-emission vehicles, including battery-electric and hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks
• Nikola Corporation


  • Founded in 2015 by Trevor Milton
  • Gained attention for its ambitious plans to revolutionize the transportation industry with its innovative vehicle designs and alternative energy technologies
• Nikola initially gained significant investor interest and media attention, particularly for its hydrogen fuel cell truck concept, the Nikola One
• Nikola aimed to address environmental concerns and reduce reliance on fossil fuels by offering trucks powered by renewable energy sources
• Nikola faced scrutiny and controversy following allegations of misleading statements and exaggerations about its technology and capabilities
• A report by short-selling firm Hindenburg Research accused Nikola of engaging in fraud and deception to bolster its image and attract investors
• The allegations included claims that Nikola had overstated the readiness of its technology, including a promotional video that misrepresented a prototype truck as being fully functional when it was actually inoperable
• In the wake of these allegations, Trevor Milton resigned as chairman of Nikola, and the company's stock price plummeted
• Nikola denied the allegations but acknowledged inaccuracies in its promotional materials
• Bitconnect


  Cryptocurrency platform that gained significant attention during the cryptocurrency boom of 2017
• Bitconnect

  • Claimed to offer a lending and investment program that promised high returns for investors who purchased Bitconnect tokens and lent them to the platform
  • Attracted users through aggressive marketing tactics and promises of guaranteed returns, with some affiliates promoting it as a way to earn passive income
• Many in the cryptocurrency community raised concerns about Bitconnect's legitimacy and sustainability, likening it to a Ponzi scheme due to its unsustainable business model and lack of transparency
• In January 2018, Bitconnect abruptly shut down its lending and exchange platform, citing regulatory pressure and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks
• The closure of Bitconnect led to a significant loss of value for Bitconnect's token, BCC, causing widespread financial losses for investors
• Following the shutdown, several legal actions were initiated against Bitconnect and its promoters, alleging fraud and securities violations
• FTX


  Cryptocurrency exchange and trading platform known for offering a wide range of trading products and innovative features
• FTX


  • Founded in 2017 by Sam Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang
  • One of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges in the world
  • Offers spot trading, futures trading, options trading, and other derivative products for a variety of cryptocurrencies
  • Notable feature is its wide selection of tokenized assets, including tokenized stocks, commodities, and indices, allowing users to trade traditional financial assets with cryptocurrency collateral
• On 2 November 2022, CoinDesk published an article stating that Alameda Research, a trading firm affiliated with FTX and owned by FTX chief executive Sam Bankman-Fried, held a significant amount of FTX's exchange token, FTT
• The article triggered a spike in withdrawals from FTX, but eventually customers became unable to retrieve the money they had deposited in the exchange
• On 11 November, FTX, Alameda Research, and over 100 affiliated entities filed for bankruptcy
• Bankman-Fried resigned
• Fractal compression


  A method of data compression that utilizes fractal geometry principles to efficiently encode images or other types of data
• Fractal compression

  1. Identifying similar patterns within the data

  2. Representing them using mathematical formulas known as fractal transforms

  3. Rather than storing each individual pixel or data point
• Fractal compression

  • Exploits the repetitive nature of fractal structures
  • Achieves high compression ratios while preserving image quality
  • Particularly useful for applications where storage space or bandwidth is limited, such as in digital image compression for transmission over networks or storage on devices with limited capacity
• Reverse engineering


  The process of analyzing a product, system, or technology to understand its components, functions, and underlying principles
• Reverse engineering

  1. Taking something apart

  2. Studying its structure and behavior

  3. Using that information to recreate or modify it
• Reverse engineering

  • Can be applied to various domains, including software, hardware, mechanical devices, and even biological systems
  • Often used for purposes such as understanding competitor products, improving interoperability between systems, discovering vulnerabilities or weaknesses, or creating compatible versions of proprietary technologies
  • Important to conduct it ethically and in compliance with legal and ethical considerations, especially regarding intellectual property rights and confidentiality