The collapse of the DSJEX crypto platform is bringing back to the center of controversy one of the biggest problems in the sector: Ponzi schemes disguised as innovative investment opportunities.
According to reconstructions published by on-chain investigator ZachXBT, the system allegedly took more than 150 million dollars from users before suddenly collapsing in recent weeks.
Behind the project were two entities that appeared separate but were closely connected: DSJ Exchange, presented as a crypto trading platform, and BG Wealth Sharing, described as a high-yield investment program.
Both allegedly built their credibility through aggressive campaigns on social media and messaging apps, promising daily returns between 1.3% and 2.6%.
International authorities on alert, but the scam went on for months
First of all, it must be said that numbers like the ones just described should already be enough as a warning sign. This is because such high and constant daily returns are very difficult to sustain in real markets, even in the crypto world.
Despite this, the mechanism attracted thousands of investors, fueled by referral bonuses, recruitment-related rewards and alleged trading signals shared within private groups on the BonChat platform.
At the center of the promotion there was also a fake CEO, Stephen Beard, a figure who allegedly played the role of the public face of the project.
According to what has emerged, Beard presented himself as a financial expert and promoter of advanced investment strategies, helping to create an appearance of legitimacy around the entire operation.
The scam also allegedly exploited another very common element in fraudulent crypto schemes: the reference to U.S. regulation.
DSJEX and BG Wealth in fact claimed to be registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, but checks by the authorities showed that there was no real registration.
In addition, making the situation worse is the fact that several international regulators had already publicly warned people before the collapse. Specifically, there were warnings against DSJEX and BG Wealth from authorities in at least thirteen jurisdictions across five continents.
These include the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Philippine SEC.
The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions had also warned that the platform was operating without valid authorizations. Despite this, the system allegedly managed to continue its activities for weeks.
On April 23, U.S. authorities seized one of the domains linked to BG Wealth during a joint operation called “Operation Level Up”.
However, according to ZachXBT, the organizers allegedly continued to move quickly between new websites and crypto wallets to avoid a definitive shutdown.
What do crypto scams exploit?
The decisive moment allegedly came a few days later, when the supposed CEO published a video claiming that DSJEX was close to a public listing.
At that stage, users were asked to pay a 12% fee on account balances, presented as necessary to complete regulatory procedures.
In reality, according to reconstructions, withdrawals had already been disabled and users could no longer recover their funds. A scheme that recalls dynamics already seen in other major crypto frauds in recent years.
In fact, promoters often, shortly before the collapse, introduce new fees or alleged regulatory checks to buy time and obtain further deposits from investors already trapped in the system.
It is a strategy that exploits victims’ fear of losing everything and that continues to work especially in contexts where financial education is limited.
The case also shows how sophisticated the crypto scam sector has become. We are no longer talking about simple improvised websites, but about structures that use professional branding, online communities, influencers and pseudo-institutional narratives to build trust.
Tether freezes millions of dollars, but recovery remains uncertain
After the intervention of U.S. authorities, those responsible allegedly launched a massive process of laundering the stolen funds.
According to analyses published by ZachXBT, over 92 million dollars were allegedly transferred across various blockchains and cross-chain services in an attempt to make tracking more difficult.
The operations allegedly involved token swaps, bridges such as Bridgers and Butter Network, as well as conversions between different digital assets on networks like Solana and Tron.
In addition, the movements were allegedly distributed across hundreds of wallet addresses to fragment the flows and complicate investigations.
Despite this, the on-chain investigator managed to link a significant portion of the operations to deposits made on centralized exchanges. The information was then allegedly shared with companies and platforms involved, including Tether, Binance and OKX.
The result was the freezing of around 41.5 million dollars. Of these, 38.4 million were allegedly blocked directly by Tether, while another 3.1 million were allegedly frozen by various crypto services and exchanges.
This is a significant amount, but still far from the estimated total of the fraud.
ZachXBT himself believes that the real damage could in fact be much higher than the 150 million initially identified, considering that the scheme has allegedly been active since at least 2025 and has involved thousands of suspicious transactions.