So, one player set up a bank for other players. Players started to invest because the bank promised a high rate of return. And at first he was actually paying out this return, so more and more players got interested in investing in his bank. In EVE Online, players can exchange real money for the virtual currency. Some players changed real money into virtual currency, invested in the bank, got their returns, and converted them back into real money. In many ways it was operating like a real bank. After he had acquired the equivalent of $100,000 in virtual currency, the player who had started the bank revealed to everyone that he was in fact a pirate and the bank was a scam. Essentially, it was a Ponzi scheme.
Article source: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/12/19/virtual_world_order/
Category: Piracy – Software, Music, Movie