Finance:PlusToken
PlusToken was a ponzi scheme that mainly had investors in China and South Korea.[1]
History
PlusToken started in April 2018.[2] It offered monthly payments to users of its cryptocurrency wallet.[3] There was also a token called Plus associated with it.[4] The total amount of cryptocurrency taken by PlusToken was estimated to be worth (based on 2019 prices) between $2 and US$2.9 billion.[1][5][6] The selling of cryptocurrencies from PlusToken was speculated to have been the cause of price drops in bitcoin.[7][8][9]
In June 2019,[10] six Chinese nationals associated with the scheme were arrested in Vanuatu and deported so they could face trial in China.[2]
In July 2020, China's Ministry of Public Security announced that 27 "major criminal suspects" and 82 "key" members of PlusToken have been arrested.[11]
In November 2020, a court in Jiangsu sentenced ringleaders behind the scheme to between two and eleven years in prison.[5]
See also
- Bitconnect
- OneCoin
- USI Tech
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Vinga, Paul; Jeong, Eun-Young (February 8, 2020). "Cryptocurrency Scams Took in More Than $4 Billion in 2019". https://www.wsj.com/articles/cryptocurrency-scams-took-in-more-than-4-billion-in-2019-11581184800.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 McGarry, Dan (July 17, 2019). "Who Are the PlusToken Six?". https://dailypost.vu/news/who-are-the-plustoken-six/article_df1f863f-a763-52e9-8cba-eea51c77cde0.html.
- ↑ "Plus Token Wallet Review: Mobile crypto wallet Ponzi scheme". October 20, 2018. https://behindmlm.com/mlm-reviews/plus-token-wallet-review-mobile-crypto-wallet-ponzi-scheme/.
- ↑ Orcutt, Mike (January 20, 2019). "Millions of people fell for crypto-Ponzi schemes in 2019". https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/01/30/275964/cryptocurrency-ponzi-scams-chainalysis/.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Sidney, Leng (December 1, 2020). "Chinese cryptocurrency scam ringleaders jailed in US$2.25 billion Ponzi scheme involving PlusToken platform". https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3112115/chinese-cryptocurrency-scam-ringleaders-jailed-us225-billion.
- ↑ Takahashi, Dean (August 12, 2019). "CipherTrace: Cryptocurrency thefts, scams, and fraud could hit $4.3 billion in 2019". https://venturebeat.com/2019/08/12/ciphertrace-cryptocurrency-thefts-scams-and-fraud-could-hit-4-3-billion-in-2019/.
- ↑ Kharif, Olga (August 15, 2019). "Bitcoin Drop Not Likely Triggered by Scam Dump, Researcher Says". https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-08-15/bitcoin-drop-not-likely-triggered-by-scam-dump-researcher-says.
- ↑ Kharif, Olga; Huang, Zheping (December 16, 2019). "Chinese Crypto Scam Unwind Suggests Bitcoin Risks Extending Drop". https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-16/chinese-crypto-scam-unwind-suggests-bitcoin-risks-extending-drop.
- ↑ Canellis, David (December 17, 2019). "Bitcoin's failing price could be caused by $2B Chinese Ponzi scheme dumping its crypto". https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/2019/12/17/bitcoin-cryptocurrency-price-dump-ponzi-scheme-plustoken/.
- ↑ McGarry, Dan (June 29, 2019). "SIX CHINESE FACE DEPORTATION". https://dailypost.vu/news/six-chinese-face-deportation/article_fef7f311-679d-5d1b-9ec5-4f44e73118bb.html.
- ↑ Osborne, Charlie (July 31, 2020). "China arrests over 100 people suspected of involvement in PlusToken cryptocurrency scam". https://www.zdnet.com/article/china-arrests-over-100-people-suspected-of-involvement-in-plustoken-cryptocurrency-scam/.
 |
