๐จ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐น๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐๐ข ๐๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ $๐ฑ๐ฌ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐บ ๐๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ด๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐
๐ What Happened?
Self Chain has officially removed its CEO and founder, Ravindra Kumar, after he was accused of leading a $50 million crypto scam involving fake OTC (over-the-counter) token deals on Telegram.
The project posted on X that Kumar has been fully removed and will no longer be involved in any way. Kumar, however, denies the claims and says his lawyers will respond.
๐ง The OTC Scam Explained
Since late 2023, Telegram brokers offered discounted token deals for popular assets like GRT, APT, SEI, and SUI.
They paid early buyers to build trust โ but it was later revealed that new deposits were used to pay old promises, making it a Ponzi scheme.
The scam continued even after warnings from big names like Mysten Labs (creators of SUI).
๐ต๏ธ Who's "Source 1"?
The shady broker behind the scam was nicknamed "Source 1", and allegedly gave real deals at first before turning to fraud.
Some believe Ravindra Kumar himself was Source 1, though he has denied it.
The OTC desk Aza Ventures, which processed many of these trades, now claims it's trying to recover funds and may reveal the scammerโs identity if victims aren't paid back by month-end.
๐ก Community Reaction
Berachainโs founder SmokeyTheBera warned about the scam months ago, but says Aza Ventures ignored him.
He posted: โSometimes if something is too good to be true, itโs just not true.โ
โ ๏ธ Why It Matters
This incident highlights growing fraud risks in unregulated OTC trading and the need for better transparency in crypto deals done via Telegram.