PlusToken was a
ponzi scheme
A Ponzi scheme (, ) is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays profits to earlier investors with funds from more recent investors. Named after Italian businessman Charles Ponzi, the scheme leads victims to believe that profits are comi ...
that operated worldwide but mainly had investors in
China and
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
.
History
PlusToken started in April 2018.
It offered monthly payments to users of its
cryptocurrency wallet
A cryptocurrency wallet is a device, physical medium, program or a service which stores the public and/or private keys for cryptocurrency transactions. In addition to this basic function of storing the keys, a cryptocurrency wallet more often al ...
. There was also a token called ''Plus'' associated with it. The total amount of
cryptocurrency
A cryptocurrency, crypto-currency, or crypto is a digital currency designed to work as a medium of exchange through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it. It ...
taken by PlusToken was estimated to be worth (based on 2019 prices) between $2 and US$2.9 billion.
The selling of cryptocurrencies from PlusToken was speculated to have been the cause of price drops in
bitcoin
Bitcoin ( abbreviation: BTC; sign: ₿) is a decentralized digital currency that can be transferred on the peer-to-peer bitcoin network. Bitcoin transactions are verified by network nodes through cryptography and recorded in a public di ...
.
In June 2019, six Chinese nationals associated with the scheme were arrested in
Vanuatu
Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...
and deported so they could face trial in China.
In July 2020, China's
Ministry of Public Security announced that 27 "major criminal suspects" and 82 "key" members of PlusToken have been arrested.
In November 2020, a court in
Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its c ...
sentenced ringleaders behind the scheme to between two and eleven years in prison.
See also
*
Bitconnect
Bitconnect (also spelled BitConnect and KimConnect; stylized ''bitconnect'', ticker code BCC) was an open-source cryptocurrency in 2016–2018 that was connected with a high-yield investment program, a type of Ponzi scheme. After the platform ...
*
OneCoin
*
USI Tech
USI Tech Limited (also known as United Software Intelligence, or stylised as USI-TECH) was a Dubai-based cryptocurrency and forex platform trading provider, suspected to be a high-yield investment program and a Ponzi scheme. Prior to going offlin ...
References
Crypto Ponzi schemes
Cryptocurrency projects
2018 establishments in China
Cryptocurrency scams
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