๐จ ๐ง๐๐ $๐ฑ๐ฌ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ๐ฃ๐ง๐ข ๐ฆ๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ข ๐ข๐ก๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ช ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ก๐
๐ A shocking $50 million crypto scam has been uncovered โ and most of the crypto world missed
Over the last few months, investors (including whales, VCs, and influencers) were tricked into fake โOTC token dealsโ on Telegram that looked totally legit. Popular tokens like SUI, NEAR, SEI, Graph, and Aptos were involved.
๐งฉ How the Scam Worked
โ Step 1: Gain Trust (Nov 2024 โ Jan 2025)
Scammers offered real tokens at big discounts (up to 50% off).
Tokens were delivered โ investors got what they paid for.
Trust was built. People started investing more.
๐ Step 2: Go Bigger (Feb โ Jun 2025)
More tokens, more deals, bigger promises.
Everyone thought they were getting in early on โVC deals.โ
More users joined. Billions worth of tokens were traded.
โ ๏ธ Step 3: Warnings Ignored (May 2025)
SUI and MultiversX teams publicly warned the deals were fake.
Still, investors kept buying โ they believed the deals were safe.
๐ฅ Step 4: Collapse (June 2025)
Token deliveries suddenly stopped.
Excuses like โtravel delaysโ and โexchange issuesโ began.
Then, the top OTC group Aza Ventures admitted they were also scammed.
๐ค The Mastermind Behind It
Known as โSource 1โ โ believed to be from India, possibly a Binance-listed project founder.
Aza Ventures said early deals were real, but later ones were a Ponzi scheme, using new investorsโ money to pay older ones.
๐ธ Tokens Involved
Early: Aptos, Sei, Kava, Swell, Coti, OG
Later: SUI, NEAR, Celestia, LayerZero, Graph, EGLD, Axelar, Sandbox, Wormhole, and more.
โ Final Damage
Over $50 million lost
Some people lost over $1 million
Victims include retail users, whales, and project teams
๐ What You Should Learn
Even deals that look professional and are backed by โinsidersโ can be fake
Never trust Telegram OTC offers โ especially with steep discounts