Three years after the boss of Bitcoin Era ran away.
Caught in Thailand, causing a loss of 200 million!
Speaking of cryptocurrency exchanges, old players must remember Bitcoin Era. This platform was considered the 'leader' in the altcoin world ten years ago, and its founder, Huang Tianwei, was affectionately called 'Old Huang'. Who would have thought that he would end up in Thai news as an international fraudster?
On June 12, 2025, when the police siren rang at Bangkok airport, this 39-year-old man from Fujian, Huang Tianwei, who had been hiding for more than two years, finally fell. Behind him are countless people whose hard-earned money was taken away. Below, let's briefly review Old Huang's years in the crypto world!
2013-2017:
He was once the most conscientious boss in the crypto world.
A friend from Tencent said: At that time, Old Huang was in Nanshan Science and Technology Park in Shenzhen, talking about blockchain every day. He had quit his job and rented a shabby house in a village to start the exchange.
Why do old players recognize Bitcoin Era?
Because this boss was really too 'down-to-earth'.
Three no principles:
Not uploading MLM coins.
Not engaging in Ponzi schemes.
Not engaging in air coin financing.
Spoiling users:
In 2014, a small cryptocurrency crashed, and he used his own money to compensate users. When #Ethereum just came out in 2015, he was the first to go live when others were afraid to.
Down-to-earth:
He personally replied to messages in the Telegram group, sent red packets when users got married, and some even flew to Shenzhen just to eat Chaozhou hotpot with him.
'At that time, I really treated him like one of my own,' said a player who entered the market in 2016. Once when withdrawing coins got stuck, Old Huang directly called to teach me how to handle it. Now thinking back, it feels like a dream.
2017-2022:
After renaming to AEX
He began to crazily cut chives.
In 2017, with tightening policies, exchanges all moved overseas. #Binance started to take off at this time, but Bitcoin Era began to go down the wrong path. After renaming to AEX, Huang Tianwei seemed like a different person.
Trading mining tricks:
The transaction fees you spend can be exchanged for platform tokens, and the platform uses profits to buy back and destroy. This trick now seems old-fashioned but managed to propel the platform into the global top 50 back then!
High leverage temptation:
Engaging in 100x leverage contracts, giving new users $500 in experience funds upon registration, equivalent to inducing you to gamble.
Big promise projects:
In 2021, he aggressively promoted the 'Starlink Project', claiming to launch exclusive satellites for exchanges, which sounded like a sci-fi movie.
High-interest financial traps:
Back then, many people also invested a few hundred into financial products and some ran away quickly after making a profit. Now thinking back, it's frightening. Subsequently, the platform increasingly couldn't keep up, relying entirely on old users to support it.
Until June 16, 2022, AEX suddenly prohibited withdrawals. Huang Tianwei sent a 40-second voice message in the group, hoarsely saying: The LUNA coin crash caused us to lose 3 billion, give me three days... As a result, three days later, what awaited was a notice of investigation from the Guangxi police.
2022-2025:
On the run in Southeast Asia.
He is still deceiving for the last bit of money.
After shutting down the website, Huang Tianwei played the 'disappearing act'.
Lost millions in a night at a casino in Cambodia.
Hugging beauties and drinking coconut water at a bar in Da Nang, Vietnam.
There were even rumors that he conspired with Three Arrows Capital (a cryptocurrency firm that has already gone bankrupt) in Dubai to restart the platform.
Until April 2025, when two Chinese investors reported him to the police in Chiang Rai, his tricks were finally exposed:
There are 12 mobile phones in the suitcase.
He also had 7 passports to switch identities.
The most ruthless part was the AEX revival plan, which also deceived 44 million. The official seals on the commitment letter were from companies that had long been deregistered.
When even the market's aunties are chatting about coins, it's time to run. If the aunties are talking about stocks, it's time to liquidate.
The above is what I advised my cousin in 2015, not expecting that ten years later I would fall into the crypto world myself.
Now the AEX rights protection group has nearly 500 people, and some players have shared screenshots:
July 14, 2022
He swore: Absolutely no running away.
Three days later, the platform forcibly exchanged user assets for worthless AUSD.
Caught in 2025
He was still carrying the 'AEX Believer Medal' that hadn't been distributed; it's truly ironic.
The tide recedes, and only then do you realize who is swimming naked. Old players who made their first pot of gold following him are now so angry when they mention him: He taught us to trust blockchain, but in the end, he treated our trust as chives to be cut.
Remember:
In the crypto world, opportunities are to be avoided, but there are more traps. Buying cryptocurrency, only holding real money in your hands is reliable.
