Biggest Crypto Scams of All Time | Wealth Recovery Solicitors

Over £1 billion was lost to cryptocurrency scams between January 2021 and June 2022, with more than 46,000 people duped into sending funds via digital currencies. These aren’t just numbers—they’re real stories of betrayed trust and lost fortune. Cryptocurrency has opened exciting opportunities for investors, but it’s also attracted scammers. From multi-billion-dollar Ponzi schemes to fake platforms promising sky-high returns, the biggest crypto scams of all time have cost victims billions. Keep reading to uncover the most notorious crypto scams in history and what you can learn from them.

10. Quadriga

Estimated loss: £125 million Quadriga was once Canada’s most trusted cryptocurrency exchange platform. But it was fraudulent from the start. Founded in 2013, creator, Gerald Cotton, was the only person with access to the platform’s funds, which he kept in an encrypted offline laptop. In 2018, Cotten reportedly died unexpectedly in India due ot Crohn’s disease complications, leaving no one else with the necessary keys to access the funds.76,000 investors lost their funds as a result. Many people question the circumstances of Cotten’s death, with theories that he faked it to escape with the money. Earnest & Young (EY) accountants found no significant cold wallet holdings or misappropriate funds, and Cotton’s widow returned £7 million in assets but was not charged. Whether or not these claims are true, the collapse of Quadriga left thousands of investors without their savings, making it one of the most infamous and biggest crypto scams in history. In 2022 Netflix released the documentary Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King about Gerlad Cotton and Quadriga.

9. Forsage

Estimated loss: £250 million Forsage was a decentralised finance (DeFi) cryptocurrency platform operating on the Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, and Tron blockchains. It promoted itself as a highly secure and legitimate investment opportunity. However, authorities accused its founders of running a Ponzi and pyramid scheme. Investigations revealed that around 80% of investors received fewer ETH (Ethereum) than they had invested, with 50% receiving nothing at all. In February 2023, a federal grand jury convicted the four founders, each facing up to 20 years in prison.

8. Mt Gox

Estimated loss: £350 million At its peak, Mt. Gox was the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, handling up to 70% of all Bitcoin transactions globally. The Japan-based platform was founded in 2010 and was seen as a pioneer in the emerging cryptocurrency market. However, this rise came to a shocking end in 2014. In February 2014, Mt. Gox abruptly suspended withdrawals, blaming technical issues. Soon after, the platform announced it had been hacked, resulting in the loss of 850,000 Bitcoins—valued at around £350 million at the time. Despite investigations, the stolen Bitcoin was never recovered. The CEO, Mark Karpelès was found guilty of fraud and data manipulation, he was sentenced to 30 months in prison which was suspended for 4 years.

7. HashFlare & Polybius Bank

Estimated loss: £450 million HashFlare and Polybius Bank were fraudulent operations co-founded by Estonian nationals Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turõgin. They deceived thousands of investors between 2015 and 2019. HashFlare: HashFlare sold "rental contracts" for mining equipment, promising high returns. In reality, it mined less than 1% of the advertised output, leaving 80% of investors with fewer returns than they invested, and 50% of investors with nothing at all. Polybius Bank: Promoted as a cryptocurrency bank, it raised funds in 2017, promising future dividends. However, the bank never materialised, and the scheme collapsed as an exit scam. In November 2022, both founders were arrested and charged, facing up to 20 years in prison.

6. Bitclub Network

Estimated losses: £570 million BitClub Network marketed itself as a crypto-mining platform where investors could buy shares in three mining pools, promising lucrative returns. However, it was later exposed as a fraudulent scheme. Operators faked mining figures and stole £570 million worth of Bitcoin from investors. Starting in 2014, the platform also rewarded members for recruiting new investors, and it was later recognised as a Ponzi scheme. In 2019, the U.S. authorities investigated and arrested the founders of Bitclub Network. Founder Matthew Goettsche was sentenced to 20 years in prison and luxury assets including cash, real estate and vehicles worth millions, were seized. Bitclub Network’s founders pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges, including money laundering.

5. HyperVerse (HyperFund)

Estimated losses: £1 billion - £1.5 billion Also known as HyperCapital, HyperTech, HyperNation, but most commonly as HyperVerse, this metaverse-themed Ponzi scheme operated as a cryptocurrency mining and investment platform between 2014 and 204. HyperFund promised high returns of 0.5 – 1% daily, through supposed crypto mining operations, so the platform attracted a vast number of investors. However, it was later exposed as a fraudulent scheme lacking legitimate revenue sources. The founders, Sam Lee and Ryan Xu were previously linked to other failed ventures, and created a fake CEO “Steven Reece Lewis” in an attempt to make HyperFund appear more legitimate. In 2022, HyperFund collapsed, blocking investor withdrawals and leaving many unable to access their funds. The scheme was rebranded after this to the more commonly recognised name today, HyperVerse or HyperNation in order to keep it active. Investigations led to charges against the founders, including Sam Lee, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud. Sam Lee faces up to 5 years in prison if convicted. Many of the victims of HyperVerse fraud continue to seek legal recourse but many investor’s funds remain unrecovered.

4. Thodex

Estimated losses: £1.8 billion Thodex was a leading cryptocurrency exchange in Turkey and had over 400,000 active users. In April 2021, the platform abruptly halted trading, citing maintenance, and its founder, Faruk Fatih Özer, fled to Albania with approximately £1.8 billion in investor assets. Thodex promised investors free Dogecoin in order to attract more users, but suspicious withdrawal issues arose before the platform was suddenly shut down. After this, investors discovered the company’s reserves had been almost entirely emptied, with approximately £1.8 billion lost, making it one of the biggest crypto scams ever. Özer was later found in Albania and extradited to Turkey. In September 2023, he was sentenced to 11,196 years in prison for fraud, money laundering, and organised crime. This is one of the largest prison sentences in history. Despite the arrests, most investor funds were never recovered.

3. Bitconnect

Estimated losses: £2 billion BitConnect operated as a multi-level marketing Ponzi scheme, falsely claiming to have an unbeatable trading algorithm. Instead, it used new investor funds to pay earlier participants. The platform collapsed in January 2018 after regulatory scrutiny. This caused its cryptocurrency, BCC, to plummet in value and left investors with massive losses. BitConnect then attempted a failed relaunch as BitConnectX. Founder Satish Kumbhani was charged with fraud in 2022, while US promoter Glenn Arcaro pleaded guilty and received a 38-month prison sentence.

2. One Coin

Estimated losses: £3-3.5 billion Until recently, One Coin was the biggest crypto scam of all time. Founded in 2014 by Ruja Ignatova, the “Cryptoqueen,” OneCoin was a global MLM Ponzi scheme that defrauded millions. It was marketed as a revolutionary cryptocurrency, selling educational packages (from $100 to $100,000) that promised access to OneCoin mining. However, the tokens were fake, and the company lied about its value. Ignatova disappeared in 2017 after being charged with fraud and remains one of the FBI’s most wanted fugitives. Co-founder Sebastian Greenwood was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2023.

1. FTX & Alameda Research

Estimated losses: £6.5 billion FTX was founded in 2019 and grew into the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by 2022. However, its success masked significant fraud. Founder Sam Bankman-Fried secretly funnelled FTX deposits into his hedge fund, Alameda Research and issued false financial statements to mislead investors. Alameda used FTX’s customer funds to make highly risky investments and artificially inflated the value of FTX’s native FTT token, in order to appear solvent. It was Binance CEO’s withdrawal of FTX holdings that triggered a liquidity crisis for FTX forcing the exchange to file for bankruptcy in November 2022. The collapse of the platform left investors unable to access their funds. Many high-profile investors and celebrities were impacted by the collapse of FTX including Tom Brady and Kevin O’Leary who had actively promoted the platform. In 2024, Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in one of the biggest financial scandals in crypto history. FTX and Alameda Research prompted intensified scrutiny from regulatory agencies on crypto exchanges following its collapse.

How much money have people lost to crypto scams?

Cryptocurrency scams are hitting UK investors harder than ever. By March 2023, crypto fraud reached an all-time high of £306 million—a staggering 41% increase from the previous year. These scams are becoming more sophisticated, preying on people’s trust and enthusiasm for digital currencies. The average loss per victim is also climbing, with reports showing a 23% increase to £10,741 per person in 2023, which is more than any other type of scam. Investment scams are especially rife, leaving victims not only out of pocket but often emotionally devastated. It's estimated that two-thirds of investment scams stem from social media, putting more of us at risk than ever before.

Have you been a victim of a crypto scam?

If you’ve fallen victim to a cryptocurrency scam, there are steps you can take to protect yourself and potentially recover your funds. Here’s what you need to do: Report the scam: Consider contacting the local police to report the scam. If your accounts have been accessed, update your passwords to ensure funds can no longer be accessed or moved. Get in touch with Wealth Recovery Solicitors. Our team of fraud recovery experts have helped thousands of clients just like you, recover funds they have lost to scams. Get in touch with our UK based team for expert advice and support to recovering what’s rightfully yours. Plus, we offer a no-win, no-fee service. You won’t pay a thing unless we recover your money. 

The Dark Side of Cryptocurrency: History’s Biggest Crypto Scams