Is BlockDAG Legit? Uncovering the Truth Behind the Flashy $BDAG Presale
With BlockDAG, we got acquainted a few months ago when we were watching a video on YouTube, and a flashy advertisement came up. It featured someone in a luxury racing car on a track, talking about how he made his wealth through a crypto presale, before speeding off. Clicking the link in the advertisement directed us to a crypto website with a launchpad where the BlockDAG crypto presale was conducted, and we were left to wonder how a wealthy person in a racing car was relevant to a blockchain Layer-1 presale project.
BlockDAG, launched in March 2024, is a cryptocurrency project currently in its presale phase for the $BDAG token, led by CEO Antony Turner, a tech industry veteran with experience in sectors like fintech and crypto. The project has raised $112.5 million so far and promotes a unique hybrid structure combining blockchain and Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) technology, which they claim boosts transaction speed, expands capacity, and scalability by allowing thousands of transactions to happen at once without losing its decentralized nature.
BlockDAG and its $BDAG token have sparked debate within the crypto community, with numerous cryptocurrency investors voicing concerns over its legitimacy, with some even labeling it a potential scam. Here, we aim to bring clarity to the question of whether, is BlockDAG legit, by thoroughly examining the project vertically and horizontally, in both areas that raise questions and those that may lend credibility to the project. Let's dive in.
The CEO - Antony Turner
If we’re being completely transparent, at first, we thought Antony Turner might be a made-up character. Initially, we didn’t find enough information backing his LinkedIn profile, and his acting in keynotes seemed too theatrical. However, as we researched further, we found several older sources supporting his previous roles as CEO of SwissOne Capital and COO of SPIRIT Blockchain Capital, which put our minds at ease that he’s indeed a professional who could be feasible to head BlockDAG.
Aggressive Marketing
The BlockDAG project has employed extensive marketing through sponsored articles and press releases, accompanied by what appears to be very professional—and likely costly—video productions, along with paid advertisements and promotions on social networks like Facebook and Instagram, and crypto influencer endorsements on YouTube.
They also claim to have sponsored major European soccer teams and a famous boxer, spending millions of dollars on these partnerships. In addition, the project has offered promotional presale bonuses, such as a 50% bonus in September and a 100% bonus in November, as well as various giveaways.
Altogether, this spending spree to promote the project and the $BDAG token over such a long period seems overly pushy. Why would a crypto presale project spend so much money and effort on marketing at the expense of research and development?
Some claims made in the BlockDAG project marketing materials seem questionable, like in a keynote from June 2024, where a speaker mentioned endorsements from CoinTelegraph, Forbes, and Bloomberg. However, the endorsements the speaker is referring to appear to be no more than a bunch of sponsored articles, with no genuine support from these media outlets and no proof provided.
Cryptocurrency investors want their money spent on actual product research and development, which is what gives a company an edge at such an early stage of its life. Excessive marketing spending, as seen with BlockDAG, may lead some investors to question if the goal is simply to attract new investors—a strategy that could resemble a Ponzi-style scheme.
Whitepaper Similarities to Kaspa’s Whitepaper
We came across this issue on Reddit, where a user claimed that the BlockDAG whitepaper is too similar to Kaspa’s whitepaper. Since both projects are DAG-based Layer-1 blockchain networks, we initially thought this could be reasonable. However, we decided to investigate, comparing the two documents ourselves and even using AI for support.
What we found was a substantial number of similarities between the two, with the Kaspa whitepaper predating the BlockDAG whitepaper. Although the structure differs, certain sections of BlockDAG’s document closely mirror Kaspa’s, with similar text, concepts, and formulas—some even appearing to be direct screenshots from the Kaspa whitepaper.
While we cannot fully determine if BlockDAG copied from Kaspa, and with no blockchain partnership or work collaboration announced between the two companies, this resemblance raises doubts about whether BlockDAG’s whitepaper is entirely original or simply repurposed.
Partnerships with Sports Teams and Celebrities
According to BlockDAG’s website, they claim partnerships with Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan, and a famous boxer named Alex Pereira. These soccer partnerships briefly appeared on the soccer teams’ websites but were later removed, and while we approached them, the teams did not respond to our inquiries on the subject.
BlockDAG still shows these partnerships on its website, which makes us question their truthfulness. Additionally, it’s unclear why a Layer-1 blockchain presale would prioritize sponsorships with sports teams and a boxer over forming partnerships with blockchain companies or other projects that could actually contribute to and support the development of the BlockDAG's network.
This approach reminds us of a previous presale project we reviewed, LuckyBlock, which followed a similar path by securing high-profile but irrelevant partnerships with boxers before they had even launched a product, raising questions about the motivation behind spending millions on marketing.
Presale Fundraising Strategy
BlockDAG’s fundraising method is unusual for a Layer-1 blockchain. Most Layer-1 projects secure funding from venture capital or other major investors rather than through a lengthy presale. For example, projects like Solana raised $20 million in a round led by Multicoin Capital, while Avalanche secured funding from Initialized Capital and Galaxy Digital, and Algorand received backing from Union Square Ventures. Given Antony Turner’s background in crypto and traditional finance, raising funds for a legitimate Layer-1 blockchain project through conventional methods should have been within reach. So, why choose the complexity of a prolonged presale? This decision raises questions, and we struggle to find any reasonable justification for it.
Testnet Development – Explorer and Faucet
BlockDAG has introduced a blockchain explorer and faucet on its testnet, allowing users to interact and test some of the platform's components. However, this minimal functionality offers limited proof of the underlying technology. For a project that claims to have raised over $100 million, we’d expect something more substantial.
As far as we can tell, this setup could be as simple as a basic interface storing data without true blockchain integration. It’s hardly an indicator of technical development worthy of a large-scale Layer-1 blockchain project.
Team’s Late Introduction
Initially, BlockDAG’s team was hidden. Only at the end of July 2024 did the project introduce its members, including Antony Turner as CEO, Jeremy Harkness as CTO, Prof. Dr. Eng. Youssef Khaoulaj as CSO, and Steven Clarke-Martin as an advisor. While Turner began his work with BlockDAG in June 2023, according to his LinkedIn profile, the rest of the team joined much later—the CSO and advisor joined in May 2024, and the CTO only came on board in October. This raises questions: who handled BlockDAG’s whitepaper, tokenomics, marketing, and early development before these key figures joined? It’s difficult to believe that all of this was managed by one person, and we’re left wondering who was truly steering the project in its formative months.
Unrealistic Roadmap
According to the roadmap on BlockDAG’s website, development of the blockchain Layer-1 network began in January 2024, with the mainnet scheduled for completion by November 2024. This timeline seems overly optimistic. Completing a Layer-1 blockchain in just 11 months is almost unheard of.
For comparison, BlockDAG’s "older sister" Kaspa, took eight years from inception to launch (as stated on their website). Research, design, planning, development, testing across multiple environments, quality assurance, and bug fixing are all crucial steps. Even with an agile approach, the complex process required for a stable, scalable Layer-1 blockchain cannot realistically be achieved in such a short timeframe.
As much as we would like to believe it, the rapid timeline claimed by BlockDAG is hard for us to accept as realistic.
Our Conclusion: Is BlockDAG Legit?
In our view, BlockDAG presents a mixed picture. While the team is now doxxed and appears to have relevant and legit credentials, too many questionable signs surround this project. The aggressive marketing campaigns, lack of relevant partnerships, questionable sponsorships with sports teams and a boxer, and the rapid development timeline, among other concerns, all raise concerns.
Although we cannot definitively determine if a project is a scam, we can make an informed estimate based on available information. For us, the number of questionable signs means it’s best to stay away from the BlockDAG blockchain. What does this mean for you? We think that crypto investors should be cautious, do their own research, and make the decision that feels right for them.
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