Amit Bhardwaj
Indian entrepreneur who founded GainBitcoin / GB Miners, described by police as one of India's largest crypto Ponzi schemes (~$300M+, collecting an estimated 80,000+ BTC). Arrested in 2018; he died in January 2022 before the cases concluded.
Also known as: Amit K. Bhardwaj
Note: Amit Bhardwaj was arrested and accused in India but died before the cases against him were resolved; the allegations were not adjudicated against him.
Bio
Amit Bhardwaj founded Amaze Mining & Blockchain Research and the GB Miners pool, and was identified by Indian authorities as the mastermind of GainBitcoin — a cloud-mining "investment" program (often paying returns in the MCAP token) that police describe as a multi-level-marketing Ponzi scheme. Estimates of funds collected range widely, commonly cited around $300 million (tens of thousands of bitcoin; some agency estimates run far higher). [1][2]
Status
Pune Police arrested Bhardwaj and associates in 2018, and India's Enforcement Directorate and later the CBI pursued money-laundering investigations. Bhardwaj died of cardiac arrest on January 15, 2022, at age 38; proceedings continued against his brothers and associates. [1][2]
Bracketed numbers refer to the numbered sources listed below.
Linked scams & cases
Sources (2)
- Amit Bhardwaj (overview) — Wikipedia
- GainBitcoin scam: CBI conducts searches at 60 locations across India — The Hindu
See also
- Profit ConnectProjectsA Las Vegas company that the SEC said was a $12M+ Ponzi scheme: it told 277+ investors their money would be invested in securities and crypto via an 'artificial intelligence supercomputer' guaranteeing 20–30% annual returns. The SEC halted it in 2021; over 90% of funds came from investors.
- Donald BasileIndividualsFounder behind Bitcoin Latinum (LTNM). The SEC charged him in 2026 with defrauding investors of ~$16M by falsely claiming the token was insured and asset-backed, and misappropriating funds for personal use (including a $160,000 horse).
- Kristoffer KrohnIndividuals
This page was last updated on Jun 8, 2026. View revision history.