Paul Elio, the namesake of Elio Motors, visited Shreveport today to offer some insight to the future of his troubled company. Some people anticipated clarity in the recently announced deal with Overstock.com, but what they were treated to was a pie in the sky tale about ElioCoin.

Yes, ElioCoin...Elio Motors, who haven't been able to produce a single vehicle since launching in 2009, is going to attempt to start up their own currency.

There has been a ton of attention paid to cryptocurrency since BitCoin exploded to record high value earlier this year. Interestingly, Bitcoin launched in 2009, the same year Elio came to be. However, unlike Elio, Bitcoin has turned into an insanely successful venture. Bitcoin, like all other cryptocurrency, is a digital currency that can be used as a peer-to-peer payment system, with no centralized bank or governing body. Making the value of Bitcoin (or any other cryptocurrency) totally dependent on users need. It's not backed by it's value in anything, and you can't directly cash it out with anyone.

Bitcoin didn't suddenly become extremely valuable though. The majority of the value behind Bitcoin was built in unsavory ways.

Due to the nature of a cryptocurrency, it's nearly impossible to track. Names don't have to be attached, and there's no unifying legal system around it. Making it the perfect payment system for illegal activities. Bitcoin has been primarily used for drug dealers, sex workers, and other nefarious entities. But that's not to say its all bad. There are tremendous benefits to cryptocurrency, and the future for them is very exciting. The point being that Bitcoin didn't just show up with value, it had to be built.

ElioCoin will also show up with no value, and unless they're hoping to have it become the new method of payment for drug dealers, has no foreseeable method of gaining value.

Well, the company has floated the idea that coins could be redeemed for vehicles, then again people have heard this before, and have no cars to show for it. When Elio attempted this "Kickstarter" type effort, they raised over $20 million. But with no results as far as production goes.

Back to the idea of a company, with little-to-no value, launching their own cryptocurrency...what is the endgame of this stunt? Do the people behind Elio honestly believe that they will raise the millions needed to produce these cars? Likely not. This is a move that falls in line with various other Elio moves...

They are attempting to use buzzwords and new concepts to confuse and excite people into handing over cash, with no intent of producing goods. From the start, the pitched a low gas mileage vehicle with questionable sustainability, then they moved into the "unsecured" investment in the model of Kickstarter, now cryptocurrency. This is a distinct pattern of behavior.

There were a lot of other nuggets to unpack from today's press conference, but I honestly can't get past ElioCoins.

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