Skip to main content

Kenyans Lose Millions of Dollars to yet Another Cryptocurrency Scam: Bitstream Circle

The masterminds behind the alleged cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme called Bitstream Circle are believed to have stolen more than $10 million in investor funds. The alleged theft became apparent on March 13, 2022, when some of the scheme’s investors encountered problems making withdrawals.

Withdrawals Blocked

Reports from Kenya have said investors in an alleged crypto Ponzi scheme, Bitstream Circle, are now unable to withdraw funds following the scheme’s collapse. The reports add that the scheme’s masterminds may have made off with investors’ digital assets that are worth over $10 million.

According to one report, the alleged Ponzi scheme was registered in the U.K. in November 2021 as Bitstream Circle Limited, and Chinese national Quin Yang is listed as the director. The report adds that the scheme had amassed over 11,000 members from across seven countries in less than four months. Most victims were apparently lured by the promise of a daily return on investment of between 5% and 8%, the report suggested.

Fresh reports that Kenyans may have lost millions to yet another cryptocurrency scheme come shortly after a Kenyan government official claimed $120 million had been lost to similar scams in the past financial year. While many of the scheme’s investors now see Bitstream Circle as a scam, the platform’s early investors initially dismissed these allegations.

However, as a report published by Kimani Capital on Linkedin explains, many investors, in fact, began experiencing problems withdrawing funds on March 13, 2022. A message from the administrator of Bitstream Circle’s telegram channel initially suggested that a network upgrade was the source of the problem. Yet after the so-called five-hour network upgrade was completed, investors could still not withdraw their funds.

The Lure of Sizeable, Quick Returns

Meanwhile, in a bid to back claims scammers may have stolen millions from unsuspecting investors, authors of a report published by Kimani Capital point to the more than 10 million USDT stablecoins that were received by an address allegedly controlled by the scammers.

Kenyans Lose Millions of Dollars to yet Another Cryptocurrency Scam

On Twitter, users have been sharing a screenshot purporting to show one of the masterminds mocking the victims. Other users lamented how young investors in particular continue to be duped by the promise of very high returns in a very short space of time.

What are your thoughts on this story? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.



from Bitcoin News https://ift.tt/iO9vADu

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Deep Web Roundup: Dream Adds Monero and Bitcoin Tumbler “Chip Mixer” Launches

The darknet has been quiet of late, which is the way it’s meant to be. No news means no mega busts, honeypots, or mass market shutdowns. Even when it’s out of the spotlight though, the deep web is quietly making news, whether trialling the latest privacy coins or the newest coin mixers that promise to restore a little of the privacy that’s being stripped away from bitcoin users on a daily basis. Also read: U.S. Agency ICE Conducts Investigations That Exploit Blockchain Activity The Battle for Privacy Heats Up Privacy is all relative, but of late there’s been relatively little privacy to be enjoyed by bitcoin users. Blockchain monitoring software is becoming more sophisticated and more common, with U.S. law enforcement agencies using it to profile and hunt down deep web users. Chip Mixer is a relatively new bitcoin tumbler that’s designed to restore some of that privacy. Available on both the clearnet and darknet, the service uses a variety of techniques to obfuscate blockchain m...

International Crypto Exchange Luno Adds Bitcoin Cash Trading

Luno exchange has added bitcoin cash trading to the platform following feedback from its client base. BCH is now only the third cryptocurrency available for trading on the exchange, in addition to BTC and ETH , but more options could be on the way once Luno determines that they are credible enough. Also Read: Bitflyer Adds Bitcoin Cash Trading Across Europe and the US Luno Adds Bitcoin Cash Trading Luno, the London-headquartered company formerly known as Bitx, recently announced that bitcoin cash was made available on its cryptocurrency exchange. Starting from Monday, September 23, customers at Luno are now able to store, buy and sell BCH on the platform. The reason given for adding BCH to the exchange is feedback from users in developing markets that convinced Luno to expand their offering from previously just BTC and ETH . Marcus Swanepoel, CEO of Luno, said , “We are in a new and exciting financial era. Developing economies are leading the large-scale adoption and appli...

Ombudsman Receives Complaints About Crypto Investments in Spain

The Spanish ombudsman has been receiving complaints about cryptocurrency and how some Spanish citizens investing in these vehicles have lost everything. In his annual report, Angel Gabilondo recognized the rise of cryptocurrencies as a new problem due to the little or no regulation crypto sees in the country. In the same way, the EU has also warned about these assets recently. Spanish Ombudsman Gives His Take on Crypto Angel Gabilondo, the Spanish ombudsman, has given his take regarding cryptocurrencies and the effects they have on citizens investing in some of these projects. Gabilondo said in his yearly report that cryptocurrencies have become “a new problem” during the year examined, with many people having lost all of their funds invested. The report states : Cryptocurrency exchange companies or platforms are not regulated in the legal system, are not subject to any public supervision system, nor do they benefit from deposit guarantee systems. The affected users that sought...