PlusToken
{{Short description|Crypto-based Ponzi scheme}}
PlusToken was a ponzi scheme that operated worldwide but mainly had investors in China and South Korea.{{cite web |last1=Vinga |first1=Paul |last2=Jeong |first2=Eun-Young |title=Cryptocurrency Scams Took in More Than $4 Billion in 2019 |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/cryptocurrency-scams-took-in-more-than-4-billion-in-2019-11581184800 |website=The Wall Street Journal |date=February 8, 2020 |access-date=December 18, 2020 |archive-date=November 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122095055/https://www.wsj.com/articles/cryptocurrency-scams-took-in-more-than-4-billion-in-2019-11581184800 |url-status=live }}
History
PlusToken started in April 2018.{{cite web |last1=McGarry |first1=Dan |title=Who Are the PlusToken Six? |url=https://dailypost.vu/news/who-are-the-plustoken-six/article_df1f863f-a763-52e9-8cba-eea51c77cde0.html |website=Vanuatu Daily Post |date=July 17, 2019 |access-date=December 18, 2020 |archive-date=October 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030013443/https://www.dailypost.vu/news/who-are-the-plustoken-six/article_df1f863f-a763-52e9-8cba-eea51c77cde0.html |url-status=live }} It offered monthly payments to users of its cryptocurrency wallet.{{cite web |title=Plus Token Wallet Review: Mobile crypto wallet Ponzi scheme |url=https://behindmlm.com/mlm-reviews/plus-token-wallet-review-mobile-crypto-wallet-ponzi-scheme/ |website=BehindMLM |date=October 20, 2018 |access-date=December 18, 2020 |archive-date=November 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111203422/https://behindmlm.com/mlm-reviews/plus-token-wallet-review-mobile-crypto-wallet-ponzi-scheme/ |url-status=live }} There was also a token called Plus associated with it.{{cite web |last1=Orcutt |first1=Mike |title=Millions of people fell for crypto-Ponzi schemes in 2019 |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/01/30/275964/cryptocurrency-ponzi-scams-chainalysis/ |website=MIT Technology Review |date=January 20, 2019 |access-date=December 18, 2020 |archive-date=January 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120144118/https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/01/30/275964/cryptocurrency-ponzi-scams-chainalysis/ |url-status=live }} The total amount of cryptocurrency taken by PlusToken was estimated to be worth (based on 2019 prices) between $2 and US$2.9 billion.{{cite web |last1=Sidney |first1=Leng |title=Chinese cryptocurrency scam ringleaders jailed in US$2.25 billion Ponzi scheme involving PlusToken platform |url=https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3112115/chinese-cryptocurrency-scam-ringleaders-jailed-us225-billion |website=South China Morning Post |date=December 1, 2020 |access-date=December 18, 2020 |archive-date=December 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201218145946/https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3112115/chinese-cryptocurrency-scam-ringleaders-jailed-us225-billion |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Takahashi |first1=Dean |title=CipherTrace: Cryptocurrency thefts, scams, and fraud could hit $4.3 billion in 2019 |url=https://venturebeat.com/2019/08/12/ciphertrace-cryptocurrency-thefts-scams-and-fraud-could-hit-4-3-billion-in-2019/ |website=VentureBeat |date=August 12, 2019 |access-date=December 18, 2020 |archive-date=November 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129201524/https://venturebeat.com/2019/08/12/ciphertrace-cryptocurrency-thefts-scams-and-fraud-could-hit-4-3-billion-in-2019/ |url-status=live }} The selling of cryptocurrencies from PlusToken was speculated to have been the cause of price drops in bitcoin.{{cite web |last1=Kharif |first1=Olga |title=Bitcoin Drop Not Likely Triggered by Scam Dump, Researcher Says |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-08-15/bitcoin-drop-not-likely-triggered-by-scam-dump-researcher-says |website=Bloomberg |date=August 15, 2019 |access-date=2020-12-18 |archive-date=2020-11-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128130143/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-08-15/bitcoin-drop-not-likely-triggered-by-scam-dump-researcher-says |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Kharif |first1=Olga |last2=Huang |first2=Zheping |title=Chinese Crypto Scam Unwind Suggests Bitcoin Risks Extending Drop |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-16/chinese-crypto-scam-unwind-suggests-bitcoin-risks-extending-drop |website=Bloomberg |date=December 16, 2019 |access-date=2020-12-18 |archive-date=2020-11-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126093929/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-16/chinese-crypto-scam-unwind-suggests-bitcoin-risks-extending-drop |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Canellis |first1=David |title=Bitcoin's failing price could be caused by $2B Chinese Ponzi scheme dumping its crypto |url=https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/2019/12/17/bitcoin-cryptocurrency-price-dump-ponzi-scheme-plustoken/ |website=The Next Web |date=December 17, 2019}}
In June 2019,{{cite web |last1=McGarry |first1=Dan |title=SIX CHINESE FACE DEPORTATION |url=https://dailypost.vu/news/six-chinese-face-deportation/article_fef7f311-679d-5d1b-9ec5-4f44e73118bb.html |website=Vanuatu Daily Post |date=June 29, 2019 |access-date=December 18, 2020 |archive-date=September 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929164210/https://dailypost.vu/news/six-chinese-face-deportation/article_fef7f311-679d-5d1b-9ec5-4f44e73118bb.html |url-status=live }} six Chinese nationals associated with the scheme were arrested in Vanuatu 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.{{cite web |last1=Osborne |first1=Charlie |title=China arrests over 100 people suspected of involvement in PlusToken cryptocurrency scam |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/china-arrests-over-100-people-suspected-of-involvement-in-plustoken-cryptocurrency-scam/ |website=ZDNet |date=July 31, 2020 |access-date=December 18, 2020 |archive-date=October 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031235154/https://www.zdnet.com/article/china-arrests-over-100-people-suspected-of-involvement-in-plustoken-cryptocurrency-scam/ |url-status=live }}
In November 2020, a court in Jiangsu sentenced ringleaders behind the scheme to between two and eleven years in prison.
See also
References
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Category:Cryptocurrency projects
Category:2018 establishments in China
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