10 of the Biggest Crypto Ponzi Schemes in the Last Years

Platforms who are not registered with or regulated by a regulatory organization are considered unregulated. Because they are not subject to any laws or restrictions imposed by financial regulatory organizations, they are free to trade as they see fit. Choosing an unlicensed platform comes with its own set of disadvantages. This statement emphasizes the need for caution and due diligence when engaging in any crypto investment opportunity, regardless of the perceived reputation of the company promoting it. In India, whether it’s ED or state police, all these investigations have been so far focusing on proving whether the accused has done the crime and not on the injustice done to the victims. Meanwhile, based on the FIR registered by the Kerala Police, ED has also been investigating the case and attached Nishad K’s assets worth INR 36.7 Cr on January 10, 2022.

Like Bitconnect, the company had a lock-in period (99 days for Regal Coin), and a bot determined the interest rate on investments. Similar to Amit Bhardwaj’s MCAP tokens, Bitconnect came out with BitConnect Coins (BCC) and marketed it as an investment option for traders. In this case, investors were supposed to earn daily interest of 1% while their dekado coin RoI would double in 100 days. It was a more aggressive Ponzi scheme than what Bhardwaj sold under GainBitcoin. As the MLM scheme flourished and more people came on board, it became increasingly difficult to pay every investor the promised 10% in bitcoin. Consequently, people started complaining about it on social media and other platforms.

1. Between 2014 and 2019, Onecoin deceived investors, amassing an estimated $5.8 billion.
2. Regalcoin enticed investors by promising monthly returns of up to 50% for holding their newly introduced token.
3. Under these contracts, investors were promised a 10% monthly return on every investment for 18 months, and the payout would be done in bitcoin.
4. It is improbable to deliver a friendly interface without proper customer relations.
5. Active customer support assists in determining more trust in the company.

Unfortunately, Ponzi scheme operators are skilled at concealing these red flags and manipulating investors’ emotions, enabling them to thrive even in today’s digital age, a century after Charles Ponzi himself. Our aim is to assist members of our community in evading becoming the next target, providing valuable insights and clear guidance. The Gujarat CID (and later ED) has been investigating the Bitconnect case since 2018, while the U.S. probe agency FBI came in a year later. District Court (San Diego) has already indicted Bitconnect founder Kumbhnani, while its India head, Divyesh Darji, is still on the run after receiving bail. Also, the US is now working on dissolving the assets of Bitconnect (US) to compensate the investors. “Some of the key accused in these cases got anticipatory bail (which may hinder investigation).

The scheme promised significant monthly returns on Dekado Coin investments, attracting a substantial user base from countries like India, Indonesia, the Netherlands, and Africa. However, after the launch, the website suddenly went offline, leaving investors unable to access their accounts. Dekado Coin became one of the prominent crypto Ponzi schemes that caused substantial financial losses.

Dekado

The former Coinbase staffer said through his attorney that he was “innocent of all wrongdoing”. PlusToken stands as one of the largest and most recent Ponzi schemes in the crypto world. The scam primarily targeted Chinese investors, leveraging the popular messaging app WeChat for marketing purposes. PlusToken enticed investors with promises of monthly returns ranging from 10% to 30%.

Bitcoin Gold Links

But every time a trader wanted to withdraw their tokens, the platform did not allow it citing ‘technical glitches’. The website did not even publish any company’s physical address or an email ID for contact. With such lack of information and Dekado Coin being unregulated, funds are not safe. Security of funds is a huge problem with unregulated investment platforms.

After speaking to probe agencies, lawyers and the victims, we have zeroed in on three significant drawbacks that delay the investigation. Although the founder promised a blockchain-backed ICO, no blockchain ID was provided to track the fundraising. There was no customer support or other details apart from a lone email ID [email protected]. On further inquiry, I found that he had little knowledge of cryptocurrencies or their legal implications. He just had a nodding acquaintance with MLM schemes and how they worked.

Bitcoin Gold vs Dekado: Coin Information

Despite its outlandish claims, GainBitcoin managed to accumulate over $300 million in investments from Indian participants. However, investigations later revealed that the project had no physical mining equipment or mining operations, exposing it as an elaborate Ponzi scheme. Crypto Ponzi schemes are crypto investment frauds that pay https://cryptolisting.org/ existing investors with funds collected from new investors. Average investors do not fully understand the technology that crypto uses or how to evaluate a cryptocurrency as a sound investment. In the 1920s, Ponzi promised investors a 50% return within a few months for what he claimed was an investment in international mail coupons.

Dekado Coin is an unregulated investment platform similar to BitConnect, which we reviewed earlier. Problem with unregulated investment platforms is that they are not reliable and abuse the regulations. Make sure to stay away from them as they are anonymous and that they can disappear any time without notice.

This firm launched a crypto exchange called BitEx and later came out with the GainBitcoin MLM scheme that offered bitcoin mining contracts. Under these contracts, investors were promised a 10% monthly return on every investment for 18 months, and the payout would be done in bitcoin. The SEC accused the operators of Forsage of raising $300mn from at least January 2020 through an unregistered securities offering. The civil charges came just weeks after the regulator charged a former employee of crypto exchange Coinbase with insider trading related to coin listings.

Crypto Scams & INR 72,000 Cr+ Lost: Why India’s Probes Into Biggest Crypto Scams Have Failed

Ponzi used funds from new investors to pay fake “returns” to earlier investors. This article features the 10 crypto Ponzi schemes that ravaged the digital asset market in 2022. At the height of the Bitconnect fraud, Michael James and Raymond Weil launched a similar staking scheme, promising up to 50% monthly returns for holding its all-new token Regal Coin.

You’d better stay far away from unregulated entities and trade with regulated platforms only. Investing your money with anonymous platforms not only puts your money at risk. Your data may fall into the wrong hands attracting criminal activities during the registration process.

Mining Max

Timely, reliable coverage of breaking news, insights, and analyses on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. The OKX Wallet is the platform’s latest offering for people looking to explore the world of NFTs and the metaverse while trading GameFi and DeFi tokens. Check out our other calculators to see if another one coin could be more profitable for you. In the realm of cryptocurrency, now that you have gotten yourself acquainted with the full crypto Ponzi scheme list, Ponzi schemes pose a significant threat to unsuspecting investors.

An overview showing the statistics of Dekado, such as the base and quote currency, the rank, and trading volume. As usual, the introductory sessions promised 40-70% monthly returns on Dekado Coin. But when a global user base, especially from India, Indonesia, the Netherlands and the African continent, came on board soon after the launch, the website went down. Similar to GainBitcoin, Mining Max disguised its illicit operations behind a cloud mining venture.