Tav
Tech review: A marketing shell
I signed up in order to participate as I was recommended by a friend. I have a background in crypto tech and wanted to know what it offered. First impression: I wanted to see what blockchain tech they were using and see what it took to participate. But I couldn't find any info on the tech - there is no visible network/blockchain ledger, there is no way to see value stored against specific public keys, there's no cold wallets - it's all just one site claiming you are "holding value". That's just not how crypto works. Second try: Okay, so I'm told I can participate by having a node. So I attempt to find out what software is required to run a node and discover you can't actually host a node - you "buy them". Wait, what!? You can't actually host the node yourself? That's kind of point of a decentralised system. According to Connect, you buy virtual "nodes" that manage this unseen network that you just have to trust exists, using "blockchain" tech that nobody has any details on. I also find out from my friend that these nodes themselves are a "commodity" - a way of buying in. They have a set, increasing price (so "get in quick"). Huh? At best, that's just a centralised credit system. Again - that's... just not how crypto works. I know to a novice, everything looks "virtual" in crypto, but nodes are real physical things, that do real computation to maintain the ledger. This left me feeling more than a little suspicious to say the least. Third and final straw: Having had my friend invest significant funds, I wanted to give the benefit of the doubt - maybe it just looks suspicious but still has something to offer. So I watched some videos and read though some of the training material on the site. There was information on the blockchain and it seemed pretty accurate. Yet, I just couldn't find anything on how Connect United itself has anything to do with the blockchain. The marketing in the videos seemed to infer that Connect United is somehow a driving force behind blockchain technology or that it might bring it to the masses. So I searched for evidence that Connect United is either contributing something to the technology stack or that one of their user facing products have some grounding or momentum. I failed to find _anything_ other than promises - all the software talked about in their offerings is "in early development". One more nail in the coffin: The marketing material suggests that if you do certain positive things like learning, you are awarded points by the system. What? LOL. How can a decentralised system award value from its pool using arbitrary measurements like "making the world a better place", all while maintaining any sort of value? That's nonsensical. In summary, there is no tangible evidence that Connect United provides or contributes to any blockchain technology. There is no specifics on their technical implementation. In-fact, there is no evidence that their cryto network even exists at all. The key premise of any cryto system is that it provides a "trustless system" which safeguards the transfer of ownership for a unit of value. Connect United's marketing is filled with technical contradictions, offering a centralised system based on trust, all while marketing itself as decentralised and offering no level of transparency to earn trust. I am left without a doubt that this is an empty shell of clever and deceptive marketing that will collapse without delivering. Please don't be sucked into this if you haven't already invested.
Response from Connect UnitedApr 4, 2025
Please see our reply below is sections with links to additional information and references. “First impression: I wanted to see what blockchain tech they were using and see what it took to participate. But I couldn't find any info on the tech - there is no visible network/blockchain ledger” Win (as well as the other associated projects) is a Layer 1 Blockchain with independent block explorers where all distribution transactions of native tokens are viewable on chain. https://win.elevatescan.com/ The Native rewards can be bridged to ERC-20 tokens, which then can be traced via Etherscan, Dexscreener, CoinMarketCap and others. https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/connect-united/ https://etherscan.io/token/0xb10cb07ca2cdac77fbb5707f6690301f9d036f45 The blockchains are independent and self governed by the node owners including on-chain voting: Connect Disclaimer Win nodes and the Win Blockchain are governed by a Distributed Governance Framework, which is distinct from and not solely controlled by Connect United DAO LLC. Any value derived from Win nodes and WIN Digital Rewards is likely to be uncorrelated with the success or failure of Connect. WIN Blockchain Self Governance Interface: https://win.node-governance.io/governance “Second try: Okay, so I'm told I can participate by having a node. So I attempt to find out what software is required to run a node and discover you can't actually host a node - you "buy them". Wait, what!? You can't actually host the node yourself? That's kind of point of a decentralised system. According to Connect, you buy virtual "nodes" that manage this unseen network that you just have to trust exists, using "blockchain" tech that nobody has any details on.” You are buying a node software license that YES, you can absolutely host yourself. You can also pay a third party VPS (Virtual Private Server) to host for you and some people to choose to do that because it is more user friendly but not required. Here are the requirements to host it yourself on a local computer: https://support.connectunited.com/hc/en-us/articles/4560894192923-What-devices-are-currently-supported-for-running-my-Win-Node-software As far as the “‘blockchain’ tech that nobody has any details on”, see my above response. “Third and final straw: Having had my friend invest significant funds, I wanted to give the benefit of the doubt - maybe it just looks suspicious but still has something to offer. So I watched some videos and read though some of the training material on the site. There was information on the blockchain and it seemed pretty accurate. Yet, I just couldn't find anything on how Connect United itself has anything to do with the blockchain. The marketing in the videos seemed to infer that Connect United is somehow a driving force behind blockchain technology or that it might bring it to the masses. So I searched for evidence that Connect United is either contributing something to the technology stack or that one of their user facing products have some grounding or momentum. I failed to find _anything_ other than promises - all the software talked about in their offerings is "in early development".” Not sure where you were looking but Connect has multiple user-facing blockchain-based products and services available in its shopping cart including videoconferencing subscriptions (through R-Link) and wellness app subscriptions (through Galvan). “How can a decentralised system award value from its pool using arbitrary measurements like "making the world a better place", all while maintaining any sort of value? That's nonsensical.” Through self-governance and the process of submitting proposals and community members voting on proposals, a decentralized entity or system can do whatever, they as a community, choose to do. This includes a Charter that has been submitted by and voted on by community members, who are node owners. https://win.node-governance.io/governance