AI trading bot ruse Ponzi scheme


SmartLab fails to provide verifiable ownership or executive information on its website.

Supposedly SmartLab is run by founder “Alex Wu”. Whether Wu actually exists is unknown.

SmartLab’s website domain (“smartlab.international”), was privately registered on August 8th, 2023.

On its website, SmartLab claims to be based out of Vietnam.

Where is Smart Lab located?

Smart Lab’s main office is located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. We were initially founded in Malta and later incorporated in Seychelles.

Notwithstanding Malta and Seychelles being tax-havens used to register shell companies, there is no way for consumers to verify this information.

It’s unlikely Alex Wu exists. It’s also unlikely SmartLab has any physical ties to Vietnam, Malta or Seychelles.

As of February 2024, SimilarWeb ranks top sources of traffic to SmartLab’s website as Australia (57%) and Norway (43%).

As always, if an MLM company is not openly upfront about who is running or owns it, think long and hard about joining and/or handing over any money.

SmartLab’s Products

SmartLab has no retailable products or services.

Affiliates are only able to market SmartLab affiliate membership itself.

SmartLab’s Compensation Plan

SmartLab affiliates invest USD equivalents in tether (USDT).

This is done on the promise of advertised returns:

  • Trial 1 – invest $300 and receive 3% a month capped at $600
  • Trial 1 Exclusive – invest $345 and receive 3% a month capped at $900
  • Trial 2 – invest $1000 and receive 4% a month capped at $2000
  • Trial 2 Exclusive – invest $1150 and receive 4% a month capped at $3000
  • Basic – invest $3000 and receive 5% a month capped at $6000
  • Basic Exclusive – invest $3450 and receive 5% a month capped at $9000
  • Standard – invest $5400 and receive 6% a month capped at $15,000
  • Standard Exclusive – invest $6210 and 6% a month capped at receive $20,000
  • Premium – invest $16,200 and receive 9% a month capped at $45,000
  • Premium Exclusive – invest $18,630 and receive 9% a month capped at $60,000
  • Professional – invest $48,600 and receive 10% a month capped at $180,000
  • Professional Exclusive – invest $55,890 and receive 10% a month capped at $240,000
  • Elite – invest $162,000 and receive 11% a month capped at $600,000
  • Elite Exclusive – invest $186,300 and receive 11% a month capped at $800,000
  • Ultimate – invest $342,000 and receive 12% a month capped at $1,800.000
  • Ultimate Exclusive – invest $393,300 and receive 12% a month capped at $2,400,000

An additional “quarterly bonus” of “at least 9%” on every active Exclusive investment plan is purportedly paid out every quarter.

Note that SmartLab includes earned MLM commissions towards ROI caps.

Once a ROI has been reached, reinvestment is required to continue earning.

The MLM side of SmartLab pays on recruitment of affiliate investors.

SmartLab Affiliate Ranks

There are five affiliate ranks within SmartLab’s compensation plan.

Along with their respective qualification criteria, they are as follows:

  1. Director 1 – invest at the Standard or higher tiers and recruit either nine affiliates who have invested at Standard or higher or six affiliates who have invested at Premium or higher
  2. Director 2 – maintain a Standard or higher tier investment and recruit three Director 1 or higher ranked affiliates
  3. Director 5 – invest at the Premium or higher tiers and recruit three Director 2 or higher ranked affiliates
  4. Director 7 – invest at the Elite or higher tier and recruit three Director 5 or higher ranked affiliates
  5. Director 10 – invest at the Ultimate or higher ranked tier and recruit nine Director 7 or higher ranked affiliates

Referral Commissions

SmartLab pays a 20% referral commission on USDT invested by personally recruited affiliates.

How much of the 20% referral commission SmartLab affiliates earn is determined by how much they’ve invested:

  • Trial 1 tier affiliates receive a 5% referral commission
  • Trial 2 tier affiliates receive an 8% referral commission
  • Basic tier affiliates receive a 10% referral commission
  • Standard tier affiliates receive a 12% referral commission
  • Premium tier affiliates receive a 15% referral commission
  • Professional and Elite tier affiliates receive an 18% referral commission
  • Ultimate tier affiliates receive a 20% referral commission

Note that these commission amounts are coded. This means that higher ranked SmartLab affiliates are paid the difference between lower-ranked affiliates in their downline.

E.g. a Standard tier SmartLab affiliate recruits a new affiliate investor. They are paid 12% as a referral commission, leaving 8% still to pay out (20% minus 12% paid out).

SmartLab searches upline for a Premium or higher ranked affiliate to pay the remaining 8% out to.

  • if a Premium ranked affiliate is found first, they are paid 3% (15% minus the 12% already paid out), leaving 5% to be paid to either a Professional, Elite and/or Ultimate tier affiliate further upline
  • If a Professional or Elite affiliate is found first, they are paid 6% (18% minus the 12% already paid out), leaving 2% to be paid to the first upline Ultimate tier affiliate found
  • if an Ultimate affiliate is found first, they are paid the full 8% outstanding amount

Note that nothing is ever passed up on Ultimate tier affiliates as this rank is paid the maximum 20% referral commission rate available.

Residual Commissions (unilevel)

A unilevel compensation structure places an affiliate at the top of a unilevel team, with every personally recruited affiliate placed directly under them (level 1):

If any level 1 affiliates recruit new affiliates, they are placed on level 2 of the original affiliate’s unilevel team.

If any level 2 affiliates recruit new affiliates, they are placed on level 3 and so on and so forth down a theoretical infinite number of levels.

SmartLab caps residual unilevel commissions across eighteen unilevel team levels.

Residual unilevel commissions are paid as a percentage of USDT invested across these eighteen levels based on how much a SmartLab affiliate has invested:

  • Trial tier affiliates do not qualify for residual commissions
  • Basic tier affiliates earn 5% on level 1 (personally recruited affiliates)
  • Standard tier affiliates earn 5% on level 1 and 3% on level 2
  • Premium and higher tier affiliates earn 5% on level 1, 3% on level 2, 2% on level 3, 0.5% on levels 4 and 5, 0.3% on levels 6 and 7, 0.2% on levels 8 and 9 and 0.1% on levels 10 to 18

Residual Commissions (matrix)

SmartLab pays residual matrix commissions via a 3×18 matrix.

A 3×18 matrix places an affiliate at the top of a matrix with three positions directly under them:

These three positions form the first level of the matrix. The second level of the matrix is generated by splitting these first three positions into another three positions each (nine positions).

Levels three to eighteen of the matrix are generated in the same manner, with each new level housing three times as many positions as the previous level.

Positions in the matrix are filled via direct and indirect recruitment of SmartLab affiliates.

Residual matrix commissions are paid as a percentage of USDT invested across eighteen matrix levels.

Specific residual matrix commission rates are determined by what level of the matrix the investing affiliate is placed and which tier they are investing into.

  • Trial 1 tier affiliates pay a 50 cent commission across levels 1 to 3 of the matrix, 25 cents across levels 4 to 6 and 7.5 cents across levels 7 to 18
  • Trial 2 tier affiliates pay a $1.50 commission across levels 1 to 3 of the matrix, 75 cents across levels 4 to 6 and 25 cents across levels 7 to 18
  • Basic tier affiliates pay a $5 commission across levels 1 to 3 of the matrix, $2.50 across levels 4 to 6 and 75 cents across levels 7 to 18
  • Standard tier affiliates pay a $10 commission across levels 1 to 3 of the matrix, $5 across levels 4 to 6 and $1.50 across levels 7 to 18
  • Premium tier affiliates pay a $30 commission across levels 1 to 3 of the matrix, $15 across levels 4 to 6 and $4.50 across levels 7 to 18
  • Professional tier affiliates pay a $90 commission across levels 1 to 3 of the matrix, $45 across levels 4 to 6 and $13.50 across levels 7 to 18
  • Elite tier affiliates pay a $300 commission across levels 1 to 3 of the matrix, $150 across levels 4 to 6 and $45 across levels 7 to 18
  • Ultimate tier affiliates pay a $600 commission across levels 1 to 3 of the matrix, , $300 across levels 4 to 6 and $90 across levels 7 to 18

Manager Bonus

To qualify as a Manager a SmartLab affiliate must recruit three affiliates who invest at the Standard tier or higher.

Manager qualified affiliates in turn qualify to earn the Manager Bonus.

The Manager Bonus is a generational match on referral commissions earned by downline affiliates.

The Manager Bonus is paid out using the same unilevel team residual unilevel commissions are paid with, on up to 11 Manager ranked affiliates per unilevel team leg.

  • a 10% Manager Bonus is paid on earned referral commissions up to the first Manager found in a recruitment leg
  • a 3% Manager Bonus is paid on referral commissions earned between the first and second Manager found in a recruitment leg
  • a 1% Manager Bonus is paid on referral commissions between subsequent Managers found in a recruitment leg, capping out at eleven Manager generations per leg

Rank Achievement Bonus

SmartLab rewards affiliates for qualifying at Director 1 or higher with the following Rank Achievement Bonuses:

  • qualify at Director 1 and receive a 2% bonus on downline investment
  • qualify at Director 2 and receive a 3% bonus on downline investment (5% paid on Exclusive tier investment)
  • qualify at Director 5 and receive a 5% bonus on downline investment (10% paid on Exclusive tier investment)
  • qualify at Director 7 and receive a 6% bonus on downline investment (15% paid on Exclusive tier investment)
  • qualify at Director 10 and receive a 10% bonus on downline investment (15% paid on Exclusive tier investment)

Joining SmartLab

SmartLab affiliate membership is free.

Full participation in the attached income opportunity requires a minimum 300 USDT investment.

SmartLab Conclusion

SmartLab represents it generates external revenue via an AI trading bot, supposedly trading in “football markets”.

Our bot uses sophisticated algorithms to identify and execute market spread trading opportunities. It leverages data analysis, statistical models, and AI-driven insights to optimize trading strategies across multiple bookmaker platforms.

Our market-spread trading bot operates exclusively in football markets.

No verifiable evidence of SmartLab generating external revenue of any kind is provided.

Furthermore, SmartLab’s business model fails the Ponzi logic test.

If SmartLab already has a trading bot generating a guaranteed 12% minimum per month (the actual amount generated would have to be higher to account for MLM commissions and bonuses), what do they need your money for?

As it stands, the only verifiable source of revenue entering SmartLab is new investment.

Using new investment to pay affiliate withdrawals would make SmartLab a Ponzi scheme. With nothing marketed or sold to retail customers, the MLM side of SmartLab additionally functions as a pyramid scheme.

As with all MLM Ponzi schemes, once affiliate recruitment dries up so too will new investment.

This will starve SmartLab of ROI revenue, eventually prompting a collapse.

The math behind Ponzi schemes guarantees that when they collapse, the majority of participants lose moneyy.