Infamous former BitConnect spokesperson Carlos Matos has resurfaced on the Internet. He was last seen just a few days ago doing a YouTube live stream about his attempts to gain “health and wealth” through a process of intermittent water fasting.
The Original BitConnect Scandal
Carlos Matos became famous when he appeared in a promotional video for the now defunct BitConnect. BitConnect, of course, was a incredibly popular scam that cost many people thousands or more dollars, and even some their entire life savings.
To summarize, the system worked by promising people that they could deposit Bitcoin and lend it out through some sort of automated process. The end result would be a consistent, reliable, and guaranteed returns with daily payouts. This, of course, all collapsed when the scheme fell apart. The system relied on its own cryptocurrency, BitConnectCoin or BCC, which has alleged lost its last exchange.
For more detailed information on BitConnect, make sure to read our article on it here.
In the original video, which was then later parodied on HBO’s Last Week Tonight, Carlos Matos begins with his catchphrase “hey hey hey” and “what’s a what’s a what’s up, BitConnect!”
Comedian Keegan-Michael Key doing a Carlos Matos impression
This appearance then spawned a number of memes and remixes, with the most popular in general being when Matos screamed out “BitConnect” several times. This is often rendered ‘BITCONEEEEE’ or some other variation on the same theme.
In many ways, Matos became the face of the collapse even though his involvement with it is still not fully known.
A popular Telegram sticker pack featuring Matos
If the original presentation is to be believed, then Matos was supposed to be an every man investor who joined BitConnect and turned his $25,000 into five times that amount in just a few months. In the video, Matos also claimed his wife didn’t believe him and thought that BitConnect was a scam. Of course, all of this could have been fabricated.
While a number of people tied to BitConnect such as Trevon James and Crypto Nick have been attracting attention from authorities, Matos so far appears to have escaped unscathed.
Matos Resurfaces
A sharp-eyed Redditor caught Carlos Matos after he started posting new streams and videos to YouTube one month ago. These videos mostly start out with Matos performing his usual “hey hey hey” and “what’s up”, routine for which he is now famous.
The majority of the live stream videos all follow a similar pattern. They start with the catchphrase, going to Carlos saying how he feels so wonderful and is so excited, and the videos are filled with some of the most atrocious shaky cam we’ve ever seen. It is guaranteed to make those sensitive to it feel nauseous in a matter of seconds.
So the big question is, what is he selling this time? Is it another crypto Ponzi scheme?
In the last month Matos uploaded quite a few hours of content. We listen to a few of his videos in their entirety but were not able to find any mention of specific products, plans, companies, or endorsements. Instead, Matos continues to go on about his own personal weight loss attempts. Specifically, Matos has been engaging in a plan of intermittent fasting. In one video Matos says that for three days a week he will not eat anything for 20 hours of the day, and will only eat during four them.
We’re not health at experts here at Blockonomi, but to the casual observer, this sounds like a really bad idea.
So what is his goal in doing this? Our best guess is that he is trying to establish some credibility as a weight loss coach, or wants to attract a sponsor after establishing a social media presence.
The Community (Mostly) Doesn’t Care
Given how widespread Matos-based memes are, and still are to this day, it was surprising to see that his videos so far garnered only a small amount of attention. Carlos did answer a few questions before to commenters. One commenter asked about Carlos’s accent and where he was born. To this he replied:
“My family is originally from Dominican Republic and my first language is Spanish. :-)”
Others have made jokes at Matos’ expense, such as I.K Art who said:
“They say nonono hmmhmm
I love fitnessconnecttt i can see it”
And so while Carlos may be permanently branded as “the BitConnect guy”, he seems to be trying his best to move on and pursue other things. Hopefully he will stay away from cryptocurrency scams.
