So I have been doing some research on Star Citizen.
It is the most successful kickstarter of all time and has raised $56m through the sale of virtual ships. People are buying virtual ships for a virtual universe that doesn't exist yet. Many of the ships they buy are designs that may not enter the game for over a year after its launch. You can't see the ship you bought, can't fly it, admire it in your hanger or anything.
Star Citizen has been making limited edition ships. And the holy grail are those with lifetime insurance (LTI). IE, if they get stolen or destroyed in game they are replaced. These were phased out in 2012 and now carry a hefty price tag. A ship that may have cost $350 with LTI may now retail for more than $1900 on the 'grey' market. You can buy insurance in game and the designer says insurance won't be that much and can't understand the premiums but gamers disagree and are all over these.
Star Citizen first reacted to stop this 'grey market' by allowing the sale of a ship only once and then locking it to an account. this was supposed to cut out middlemen. However they just now trade in in-game currency. Once a ship is transferred, the middleman moves the real money from a paypal account to complete the transaction.
Star Citizen is about to do another run of LTI ships for the first time in 2 years. Just a few hundred, limited edition.
The interesting thing is that market analysts say it is not in Chris Roberts interest to ever release the game. He is generating more revenue and faster from ship pledge funding than he would likely get on sales of the game's release.
I think what we have here gentlemen, is a cyber Ponzi scheme.