Here's my take on the Bitconnect network.
I will disclose that I have invested over $1,000 into the investment part of the platform. I will not give you my reference because if it it a scam, as some people here believe, I don't want the 7% referal fee on my conscience.
However, it is paying out in $'s each day and I'm withdrawing BTC. The investment is locked in for 239 days and then you, supposedly, will get back your initial stake in $ terms.
People Claim it's a ponzi scheme as they can' t believe it could give out an average of 0.4% a day. However, I read that JP Morgan's trading desk didn't make a single loss on any trading day for the whole of 2016. Is it possible that Bitconnect have a similar trading bot that is void of human emotion and can make a profit in volatile markets. Two days ago the payout was 0.03%, not 0.5%, when the market was very stable. Perhaps the bot makes above what is paid out and gives a buffer to cover the payout on ' unsuccessful days if the bot isn' t as tuned as JP Morgan's. Is that my wishful thinking and hoping it's legitimate or is this possible? Without being part of the development team it would be hard to say and the software would not be open source as the competition from adoption would destroy it's edge. Many free open source bots often don't work too effectively.
Network marketing is not a bad idea in principle, especially if the product is quality. I wonder is Coca Cola has less than a 10% marketing budget. The market cap in 5 months has overtaken Steem with this strategy and I haven't heard any negative feedback from anyone who is involved. The pre-mined coins seems a reasonable number to fund the development IMHO. These aspects have been brought up as critisism against the Steem platform.
What I do know is that the platform is intuitive and well thought out from a design aspect. The English used is sometimes from a non native English speaker but pretty good on the whole. Sending the Bcc coin to different wallets is instantaneous and the minting of the new coins is 90% Proof of Stake and 10% Proof of Work. You can use a code card or Google Authenticator to secure your account.
The trading bot, if legit, gives value and income to the investment and therefore does not require new investors to support it. The Bcc coin is a different investment to lending to the bot and price is dependent on supply and demand.
Remember, don't invest what you can't afford to lose!