Nigerians are counting their losses on social media after CBEX, a popular digital asset trading platform, reportedly wiped out over N1.3 trillion from investors’ accounts, following a crash on Monday that saw funds in investors’ wallets vanish.
CBEX locked its Telegram channels and suspended withdrawals, but offered investors a compromise: a $2,000 lifeline for a $200 verification fee and a $1,000 lifeline for a $100 verification fee.
Analysing the crash on X space organised by Trending X, a cryptocurrency expert and security analyst, Taiwo Owolabi said data has shown that the money was moved to a TRX address, TDqSquXBgUCLYvYC4XZgrprLK589dkhSCf, and a total volume stolen so far in USDT is $847 million and likely to increase. This analysis by the cryptocurrency expert provides insight into the movement of the stolen funds, highlighting the specific TRX address involved in the transaction, and the substantial amount of USDT that has been stolen, which currently stands at $847 million and is expected to rise further.
Owolabi stressed that the invested funds are gone because CBEX is not a licensed platform, and the creators designed a weak website to look like ByBit, which is a legitimate trading platform.
“They designed the weak website to convince people in the future that it was a security breach that affected them. Apparently, when you make payments, you pay them into a TRX account, and then, immediately, they move it from that TRX wallet, gather it, convert it to USDT, then to ETH. So, when you are logging into your account, there is literally no money on your profile.
“What you see are just numbers. All the daily activities you do to ‘trade’ increase your money. All the AI trading is fake. When it’s time for withdrawal, they will send you another person’s money.
“Since, you won’t be leaving them because of greed. You will most likely put the money back and even more. So, they will use that same money to pay another person. As you spread the word for them, more people will join and do the same.”
What exactly is CBEX?
CBEX is a digital trading asset platform that gives investors 100 per cent Return On Investment in 30 days. Its purported goal was to create a secure, transparent environment for transactions.
However, its operational model now comes under scrutiny as allegations of fraud and deceptive practices emerge. The platform is said to display falsified withdrawal records to mask the difficulties users encounter when trying to access their funds.
Can Nigerians still withdraw their money?
Owolabi, while explaining on the X space, said that in reality, all the funds are gone. Unless people decide to pay the $100 and $200 verification fees, that way, they will settle some people and leave others to languish.
He also maintained that it was the same way popular Ponzi schemes that have duped Nigerians in the past behaved, adding, “It is a rob Peter to pay Paul’ deal.
