On August 13, user Caroline posted a long message as a victim, accusing MyStonks of misappropriating her $6.2 million funds and not allowing withdrawals. She stated that she had deposited over $7 million into the platform from Binance, and initial small withdrawals went smoothly, but subsequent large withdrawals (of $3.6 million, $2.6 million, and $230,000) were all rejected by the platform on the grounds of 'triggering risk control' and requiring the submission of relevant materials. Later, when she mentioned this issue in the platform's TG group, she was muted, and customer service did not respond. She also claimed that her funds had been dispersed and transferred by the platform. Caroline provided on-chain addresses, transaction records, and chat screenshots as evidence and promised to offer $1 million as a reward for helpers. The post quickly spread, garnering 1,854 likes, 404 shares, and 814 replies, sparking widespread attention.
On the same day, MyStonks released an official statement explaining the incident, stating that it had received an enforcement request from U.S. regulatory agencies, and this investigation only targets Caroline as a single user, involving suspicious activities such as money laundering, associations with criminal organizations, fraud, drug trafficking, and evasion of sanctions. The platform emphasized that the deposits and withdrawals of other users are unaffected and reiterated its compliance principles. Additionally, $Bruce added that since the platform’s inception, it has intercepted users attempting to use the platform as a 'mixing service,' processing over 400 withdrawals in the last 24 hours, with an average processing time of 28 seconds. However, the platform has suffered over 80 million DDoS attacks, leading to delays in some user transactions, and the platform has promised to fully compensate for losses incurred as a result.
Regarding this incident, community opinions are divided. Supporters believe this is a deliberate smear campaign by competitors (such as Biyapay or other coin and stock platforms) and that the timing is quite coincidental, coinciding with the platform’s trading volume just breaking 100 million. They pointed out that the source of the user's funds may be illegal, triggering real risk control, and the platform's compliance is actually its advantage. Critics, on the other hand, question the platform's transparency, claiming that its STO filing is merely a waiver notice (not reviewed by the SEC), and also noting that OK Wallet has marked the site as a risky website, leading to restricted access and suggesting short-term hedging. Meanwhile, some users reported normal withdrawals.
In terms of key impacts and background, the platform claims to have suffered a DDoS attack, suspected to be organized behavior. Some KOLs (such as @Bitinvolution) lament that the RWA market is still in its early stages and should not engage in internal strife, but rather work together to expand the market. This incident has instead given the platform more exposure, and its trading volume has not shown a significant decline. The community has also split, with holders (like $STONKS token holders) largely supporting the platform, viewing it as a 'community-driven' project, similar to BTC. However, negative posts have circulated, claiming the platform is 'illegal' or a 'scam from Northern Myanmar,' and media such as Wu said Blockchain has also reported on this incident.
This incident highlights the compliance challenges faced by the coin and stock platform. Users suggest that funds should be diversified to avoid making large single transactions. Currently, there is no conclusive evidence proving that the platform has engaged in fraudulent behavior, and the investigation results are still pending regulatory feedback.
