The 10 Biggest Fraud Cases in Cryptoasset History: Which Ones Have You Experienced? (Part 1)

Cryptoasset fraud has always existed since the birth of cryptoassets. This is one of the drawbacks of the financial industry being largely unregulated. The people behind these scams are very creative and will try to steal your digital assets using various methods. Some of these scams have been quite successful. Which incidents have you experienced?

1. OneCoin

OneCoin was a Ponzi scheme established by Ruja Ignatova. They referred to their project as a “Bitcoin killer” and defrauded investors of $4 billion. Ignatova disappeared in 2017 and was placed on the FBI's wanted list. However, her brother was arrested in 2019 and pleaded guilty to fraud.

2. Thodex

Thodex was a cryptoassets exchange in Turkey. The owner, Faruk Fatih Özer, fled in April 2022, taking away $2 billion. The exchange was closed after claiming to have suffered a cyber attack.

At that time, there were 391,000 users. In September 2022, the police succeeded in the arrest of Özer in Albania.

3. AnubisDAO

Following the popularity of the “dog-themed coin” projects, AnubisDAO was launched in 2021. This project raised 136,000 ETH, which was worth 60 million dollars at that time.

Investors were expected to receive $ANKH tokens as a return. The tokens were issued on the “Copper” platform, which is currently closed. However, there was no website or whitepaper.

4. Squid Game

Squid Game and its SQUID coin were P2E type blockchain games. It was said that by purchasing SQUID coins, participants could join the game platform.

The all-time high reached $2,861, and the market capitalization became $2.1 trillion. It was launched on the smart chain, a partner of Gate. The scammers made off with $3.3 million.

5. Mutant Ape Planet NFT

Aurelien Michel was a 24-year-old Frenchman living in the UAE at that time. He launched a subpar Mutant Ape Planet NFT collection.

These NFTs are fake and have no relation to the Mutant Ape Yacht Club. He stole 2.9 million dollars but was arrested at Kennedy Airport in New York.

In this article, we introduced the first half of the major fraud cases that occurred in the cryptoassets industry. These cases show that thorough research and caution are necessary before investing. Gate.io prioritizes user safety and has established a strict review process. However, please remember that investment always carries risks. Have you experienced any of these incidents? Let us know in the comments!