Could an Asian cryptocurrency ponzi-scheme “PlusToken” be to blame for the recent decline in the crypto market? The story of this alleged crypto Ponzi scheme has been quiet for more than half a year, and took a new turn at the end of November. A blockchain researcher reported on Twitter that he’d been following the almost 200,000 BTC that had gone missing over the summer. This happened following several million people who invested in PlusToken.



PlusToken is South Korea-based cryptocurrency exchange which had their own high yielding investment program. Although recently users of the exchange found themselves unable to withdraw their funds.

The researcher suggests that the embezzled funds have been gradually dumped on several competing crypto markets. Further pointing that these sales could have potentially been the reason the Bitcoin market price has seen several sharp declines. Here’s everything we currently know about this monumental scheme that has yet to be confirmed officially.

One of the greatest exit scams in history

The story of the PlusToken ponzi-scheme is an example to the vast disconnection between Asian and Western crypto spheres. The platform was believed to have been in possession of almost $3 billion worth of crypto assets. These included Bitcoin, Ethereum and EOS among others.

Once the true immense scale of the PlusToken scheme became evident, the rest of the world seemed to be getting very narrow updates. A founding partner of blockchain investment company Primitive Ventures, Dovey Wan, has become a main source of updates on the alleged scam.

PlusToken was launched in May 2018, and offered users both a wallet service to store cryptocurrencies along with an investment program. This investment scheme promised high monthly returns on stored funds, with rates between 8% and 16%. The service was primarily targeting China and South Korea markets. Although Wan reported that the exchange’s also had customers located in Europe and even North America. The PlusToken operation publicly claimed they had a user base of ten million. Despite this, Ciphertrace estimated that only around 3 million people may have actually invested.

The scheme was reportedly targeting a mainstream audience. That means people who were not particularly crypto-savvy. They put an emphasis on the “educational” component of the operation. Although this mostly came down to teaching new members how to deposit funds via the PlusToken app.

The size of rewards offered to users was highly dependent on recruiting new investors. Members could then progress through the internal hierarchy accordingly, earning honorable distinctions within the platform.

In late June, customers quickly found that all withdrawals via the app were haulted. At the same time, law enforcement of Vanuatu detained six people who were heavily involved with the scheme. An announcement was immediately posted on the PlusToken site. This message stated that the individuals who were arrested were regular users, and not co-founders.

As these six allegedly high-ranking members found themselves in custody, other purported PlusToken bosses, remained at large. The whereabouts of the users funds, equaling almost $3 billion worth of cryptocurrency remained a mystery as well.

PlusToken funds on the move

News emerged on August 14th that the cryptocurrencies associated with PlusToken were being moved to exchanges. Wan was the first to raise the alarm, as he cited research by PeckShield a security audit firm. Following this, Whale Alert showed four transactions which totaled around 23,000 BTC. And these funds are supposed to likely be from PlusToken proceeds.



It was not until late November that members of several crypto communities first began to become suspicious of PlusToken. Claiming that the stolen funds from the PlusToken scheme could cause considerable selling pressure, moving markets.

By late October research was able to show and track around 54,000 out of the alleged 200,000 BTC connected to the PlusToken scheme. These Bitcoins were being mixed using easily traceable techniques. The bulk of these funds were found being sent to the cryptocurrency exchange Huobi.

New developments in the case

In order to move from suspicions in regards to the PlusToken scheme, it would require a new piece of indisputable evidence coming forward. This could most likely originate from the law enforcement responsible for this case. For now, the analysis conducted by enthusiasts is likely the best the community has to offer to understand what really happened in PlusToken’s exit scheme.

