Yes, they are very much connected. BitconnectX is supposed to be an exchange under the Bitconnect brand even before the company received two cease and desist orders which prodded the company to stop its so-called lending program. The announcement to stop the lending program almost lead to the collapse of the whole project but since the organization is also into cryptocurrency and with a strong community it is surviving now and might be able to make a comeback soon when they will be introducing other projects. However, this will be an uphill battle and this will test how good are the people behind the program. I am actually a member of Bitconnect and I know that everything is not lost here. Now, am not saying that anybody should be a part of this program now because everything is too risky...let's just watch and see how the program will survive or if not then it would just be another dead one not worthy to mention in the future.