Last Updated 25/03/2022
Lydian World for Dummies is a Guide to help you make sense of the Lydian World and what it has to offer. You will learn about the platform, its history, vision, achievements and ambitions.
In this Lydian World for Dummies Guide we cover the following topics. Jump straight to the content you want using the index below.
- Overview
- Under The Hood
- Lydian World vs. Axie Infinity
- Marketing
- Are You Likely to Make Money with the Lydian.World?
- How To Take Part?
- Final thoughts
What Is The Lydian World?
The Lydian World is a digital metaverse product by the Gold Standard Bank / Gold Standard Partners / Gold Standard Group (I doubt they know which is which anymore). More recently they have been referring to the Gold Standard Group (all these Gold Standard “insert name here” companies are pretty much part of the same organisation). They simply use different names to confuse people and make the project look bigger than it is.
They are marketing it as an online metaverse game and throw in the word NFT now and then. To date (18 Feb ’22), they have not minted a single NFT but instead sold fantasy positions and digital images to people promising the ability to mint said images on a blockchain at some point in the future.
You can learn more about G999 and the Gold standard Banking Corporation in this post: Is G999 a Scam or Opportunity of a LifeTime
The Lydian World Website
The Lydian.World website is an online game where you can’t do much. It is a single page environment that is basically a copy of a world map. You can click on each country which then shows you a popup on the left with details of that specific country. Ultimately it is unverifiable information on a screen that could come from anywhere. Is it simply a visual representation of your position in a bigger pyramid scheme?
Due to the cost of becoming a citizen or holding a position in some countries being too expensive, it appears they have forked some countries by creating provinces or regions within the country, which all have the same positions available. This is very reminiscent of the aeroplane pyramid scheme structure. It is a great way of increasing the number of people you can fool into handing over crypto in return for a username on a centralised website.
If the value increases with scarcity, what prevents them from forking these regions into cities and then suburbs and then neighbourhoods… you get the picture?
The positions are President, Vice President, Senator, Congress Man, Governor, Mayor and Citizen. These are effectively your pyramid tiers. The top 6 tiers do not have multiple legs, like normal pyramids. Instead, they achieve the same result by changing the percentage reward each tier receives from other people buying citizenship and the myriad of other earning opportunities you are meant to believe exists.
The website claims that each position in the Lydian World is an NFT. This cannot possibly be true as the Lydian Lions are not crypto tokens. Furthermore, there is no open-source blockchain against which the owner can be verified.
The Process
To become a member of this cult you need to pay $33 per month using cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum or USD Tether. This is a recurring monthly fee. I would argue that this is an elegant way of depleting user balances…
Once you are a member you can go ahead and become a citizen of a country or even bid to hold a position in that country. To become a citizen of South Africa in the Lydian World will set you back 10110.50 LYL or about $10,000. Yes, you read that correctly, about TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS. (25/03/22)
The Objective
Owning a position in a country will allow you to earn a commission (basically earn a fee from other people buying positions). There are many promises of other sources of income such as trivia games, staking pools, trading commissions, card swipes and much more. As we have seen from previous exploits the entities responsible for these products make many claims and promises of which very few come to fruition. Ultimately these revenue streams are more than likely just distractions used to deflect the accusation that the main way to earn is by recruiting other people.
The idea here is simple. Buy a spot on the pyramid, encourage others to do the same and make money from them doing so.
Furthermore, you buy mining certificates with Lydian Lions, so I guess the idea is that you rope others in to join the pyramid scheme, you earn Lydian Lions which you then either squander on worthless NFTs or spend on Mining Certificates. The mining certificates then allow you to earn Lydian Staters (that were created from thin air and are not scarce), which after a period of staking you hope you can trade for a useful token or Fiat on the open markets.
The Tokens
One of the issues that seem to keep creeping up with these types of schemes is that they constantly create new tokens with new narratives and then “port” their followers to a new token by giving discounts and creating incentives. The ones that do not follow are penalised as they end up holding worthless bags.
G999
GS Chain tokens (G999) are used to buy Lydian Lions. G999 were the original tokens touted after they jumped ship from Karatbars. G999 coins were supposedly going o be worth one dollar in a matter of months but has completely gone to pots and is now worth around 0.003cents (15 March 22) on the open market. You may be asking yourself whether this is simply a way of diverting funds and attention from G999 to Lydian World, similar to the way Karatbars went from KBC to KCB. Who knows?
LYS | Lydian Staters – External token (or Liquid Token as they would put it)
Lydian Stater Tokens are template tokens on the Binance Smartchain. No fancy programming or blockchains. Simply a standard contract on Binance smartchain that most 15-year-olds could produce…
I find the confusion on Pancake Swap even more misleading. When you go to Pancake Swap the LYS that comes up by default is for Elysium. You have to load the Lydian Stater token manually to trade it. The problem is that there are hardly any of the 888,888,888 tokens in public hands. This means the “rewards” received from owning mining certificates, are worth less than monopoly money. The real rewards go to the top 1% that take your Bitcoin or Ethereum when you sign up.
The correct address for this contract is https://bscscan.com/token/0xd5f66f1df008aeb8f782f9781794682c87ee2689
LYL | Lydian Lions – Internal Token (NOT A CRYPTO TOKEN)
The Lydian Lions are the in-game currency of the Lydian World. These are NOT cryptocurrency tokens
Lydian NFTs
As far as I can tell there are two proposed NFTs for the Lydian world.
- Images of a Lion (simply digital image files)
- The actual positions owned inside the Lydian World
To my knowledge, these are not minted on a blockchain so they technically are not NFTs, even though they were marketed as NFTs. I have ascertained from some of these training videos that the owners of these purchases will be able to mint these items on a blockchain at a later date.
Under The Hood
The Lydian World offers absolutely nothing that cannot be copied, has not been done before or that is unique. Is it possible that this is the reason why Josip Heit is talking of an IPO instead of doing what everyone else does and raise money from equity funds? It does, however, provide MLM operators with a fantastic way of drawing in new people to their pyramid scheme.
The system is maintained and modified on the fly. They use tried and tested bait and switch methods. You buy one thing and then it changes into something else which is better and you simply need to pay in the difference.
There is no real blockchain to speak of and the internal currency “Lydian Lions” is simply an entry into a database and not a cryptocurrency. In other words, the Lydian World internal currency is no different from V-bucks in Fortnite, and cannot be exchanged for anything of value outside the ecosystem.
Deposit and Withdrawal Fees
Below is a screenshot of their Fees table. The fees are ridiculous as you are charged to make deposits and withdrawals. Most websites will charge a withdrawal fee but charging a deposit fee on a scheme like this feels a bit rich. Fees are correct as of 18/02/22.
What Is The Difference Between Lydian World and Axie Infinity?
Axie Infinity is arguably the most successful NFT gaming platform to date. They have sales of $4billion and a strong community, nurtured over the last 5 years. Axie Infinity is a design rich virtual world with pet creatures that you can breed, fight, exhibit or trade. It has an ERC20 Token (AXS) with an open-source smart contract. Furthermore, You can trade the tokenised love potions (SLP), used for breeding, on a DEX like Uniswap.
For me, the objective is crystal clear when I open this website. I immediately know that it is a game (and quite addictive I might add).
My opinion is that The Lydian.World is at best a high school project with cookie-cutter template-driven design and the most basic of functionality.
I got the feeling that I was about to apply for a mortgage
When I first opened this website I got the feeling that I was about to apply for a mortgage, with the main registration page and lots of service and insurance add-ons in the sidebar. It feels like the kind of place that sells you boiler protection on a newly built home… you know the type. The imbalance in priorities was clear.
The main focus of this platform is digitising a pyramid scheme. The story and ambitions are great but the reality of what is available online at the time of writing this guide is not so much.
Marketing the Lydian.World
The main issue with Lydian. World and the wider G999 organisation lies in the marketing. To me, it is clear that it is a multi-level marketing scheme (pyramid scheme in plain English).
Who are the target customers?
Judging by footage from events in South Africa, a few details stood out. A disproportionally large section of the audience appeared to be nearing, or are actively in, retirement. Why is that?
There are very few “into crypto” people involved in the Lydian World. The MLM promoters favour people who are desperate, yet have access to savings or investments. These are usually people who have been laid off from work and have severance packages. Retirees are also a firm favourite with pyramid marketing experts because they have access to money and many did not make enough provision for retirement. Consequently, they are actively looking for opportunities to improve their situation.
Find And Make Disciples
They also search out another group. I call them the disciples. These are people who tend to come from a sales background. Usually, they are insurance reps or people that have some sort of sales and marketing career with flaky continuity. They are likely to be very friendly and outgoing. They are also the kind of people that have an unexplainable burning desire to be philanthropic.
Religious establishments and organisations are also a fertile hunting ground for MLM promotors as they use many concepts present in such organisations to their advantage. Pastors, youth workers, community support liaisons and similarly qualified individuals make the perfect teachers or team leaders.
Statistics and Figures
The platform claims to have 323 954 out of a possible 377 409 citizens. You should note that participants can take up multiple positions. There are 1,672 holders or wallets connected to the Lydian.World platform.
The training videos however seem to indicate just over 5000 active users on the platform.
Our analysis over one week shows an interesting pattern
Pharo’s Army
To me, it is pretty obvious that the same network marketing machine behind G999 is being employed to market the Lydian World. They have gone one step further this time, with the top dogs in the G999 MLM scheme also taking the highest positions in the Lydian World. On top of that, it’s not economical to outbid them due to the way the scheme incentives are structured.
Celebrity Endorsement
The promotors of Lydian World held two events in South Africa during March 2022. The first in Cape Town and the second (and main event) in Johannesburg. All the major G999 players were in attendance. To us, it would appear that the organizers are getting more and more brazen in their approach as they have cajoled 3 South African sporting legends into attending their event and claim they are now Lydian World Ambassadors.
They are:
- Herschelle Gibbs, legendary Protea Cricketer
- Lucas Radebe, Bafana Bafana, Leeds United & Kaizer Chiefs Superstar
- Victor Matfield, Bulls & Springbok Stalwart
According to a Moneyweb article from 2009, this is not the first time Victor Matfield has lent his name to a pyramid scheme.
You should note that it appears for some reason the leaders and promotors have dialled down the promotion of G999 and seem to be focusing their efforts on the Lydian World now.
I highly doubt any of these sportsmen are fully aware of the history plaguing the leaders and promotors of Lydian.World. Furthermore, I have a sneaky suspicion that the T-Shirts they were given to wear had G999 branding that was covered up. This, however, is pure speculation and conjecture on my part.
Notice the black patches on the left pockets… Could these T-Shirts be G999 Shirts that have now been repurposed?
Many commentators have highlighted the fact that this is the exact play that Josip Heit pursued with Karatbars when he apparently signed ex-footballers as ambassadors to Karatbars. There is a saying that a leopard doesn’t change its spots…
Are You Likely to Make Money with the Lydian.World?
This is difficult to answer due to all the variables. My gut feel – NO (nein, nein, nein). Sure you can make money I suppose. But selling drugs on a street corner will also give you an ROI. My problem is exactly that, what is the return on investment? What are you going to get out in return for what you put in? I cannot see a way to make a respectable ROI without recruiting others to join… and for them then to recruit others. Everyone except MLM promotors would call that a pyramid scheme.
… How I See It
I can see 3 main purposes which would justify the existence of Lydian.World.
Firstly it is a great way to exercise the math skills you were taught at school. However, Suduko would be more entertaining. Be that as it may, the levels and strategies are all just smoke and mirrors. The potential earnings require such gigantic investments and rely on absurd assumptions. As a result, I can only wonder if it shouldn’t be called the Lydian Pit rather? It does smell like a way to relieve friends and family of their spare cash…
Secondly as a psychology masterclass or evidence that some people are so desperate they will believe anything if it holds a final promise of riches for them in the end. The problem is that victims of these schemes are often too embarrassed to come forward or say anything. Social media is littered with umpteen people telling stories of how their families or friendships were ruined as a result of MLM schemes.
Lastly, could it be a veiled attempt at creating a product or service to justify the exitance of a larger pyramid scheme? This is not impossible but we will only know if it gets tested in court someday.
How To Take Part in the Lydian World?
If you would still like to take part in this project, the best way to do so is to attend one of the sales events in person or online. Should you have what it takes to make money by encouraging and helping others to squander it, you are exactly the right person to promote this venture.
If you do not know anyone that can initiate you, there is always the option of reaching out to the company via their Telegram group or website. I am sure someone will jump to get you signed up under them, to help improve their downline.
Final Thoughts On The Lydian World
The leaders and promotors will do everything in their power to stop you from questioning anything. They will pretend to be open to comments and questions. They will refer you from one person to the next. Furthermore, they will spend more time trying to discredit their critics than proving them wrong with facts.
If you question them you will be removed from closed groups and cut-off. Try to see through all this nonsense and stick to the facts. Ask the following questions and see if you get a straight answer that holds up. (Do not be fooled by roundabout semi-related answers.)
What to ask:
- Why are the same promotors involved with multiple schemes, none of which have longevity or recourse for the consumer/investor?
- What is the reason you have to mine tokens(LYS)? Not only is it already pre-mined, but it is also on a completely different blockchain?
- Why did they use the Binance Smart Chain and not their own “GSChain/G999 Blockchain” for LYS?
- How come they sell JPEGs (images on a computer) as NFTs when they are not minted on a blockchain (which is what makes an NFT an NFT)?
- Why are the main promotors of G999 and the Lydian World also the main investors? Why do they bid and hold the top positions?
- How come the information in all these Zoom meetings and events are so tightly controlled?
- If the Founders/Creators are so successful, why are they bothering to make you rich?
- Why does the Lydian World NOT feature in any credible crypto publication?
- What is the reason for no interest being shown by any respected crypto commentators?
- Why do you need to spend FIAT or Crypto to join the Lydian World? Why is G999 not the base currency for all their projects?
What is your experience with Lydian?World? How did you learn about this project? Did we get it completely wrong? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
