Skip to Content

Survive the holidays with Holidash!
Holidash Blog
AOL Tech

Second Life Virtual Bank Collapses, Losses at $750K

Second Life Ginko Bank Collapse
A virtual bank in the virtual world of 'Second Life' has collapsed, taking with it 200,000,000 Linden dollars, the in-game currency currency used for exchange within the game world. If you're shrugging your shoulders thinking this is the digital equivalent of running off with a whole pile of Monopoly money, you should know that Linden dollars can be exchanged for real dollars, and 200,000,000 Lindens has a value of roughly $750,000.

That's a lot of green, pixelated or otherwise.

The bank, called Ginko, became very popular over its three-plus year existence thanks to incredibly high returns on investment, as high as 60% in some cases. But, like many other investments offering that degree of gain, this one proved too good to be true. Turns out the bank founder won't reveal what he did with the money, and in-game laws don't dictate that he even has to. Meanwhile, others have compared the Ginko "bank" to a pyramid scheme in which a few on top have run away with some serious cash. Given the lack of in-game regulations for banks it remains to be seen just what, if anything, 'Second Life' citizens will get of their lost funds.

From 'Wired'

Related Links:

Relevant Posts

Subscribe to these comments

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Add your comments

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.


Switched Video

 



Featured Galleries

AOL Tech Network


Latest Reviews from CNET.com

CNET provides the latest tech news, unbiased reviews, videos, podcasts, software, and downloads, making tech products easy to find, understand and use.

Top Product Reviews

AOL News

Other Weblogs Inc. Network blogs you might be interested in: