MMM Global (Sergei Mavrodi)
A Bitcoin-based global pyramid/Ponzi scheme run by Sergei Mavrodi — founder of the infamous 1990s Russian MMM scheme — that promised ~30% monthly returns by having members 'help' each other with Bitcoin 'donations.' Launched around 2015, it spread across 80+ countries before collapsing in 2016.
Also known as: MMM Global, MMM Global Republic of Bitcoin, Sergei Mavrodi, Sergey Mavrodi, MMM
Summary
After his 1990s Russian MMM pyramid (which defrauded millions) and a later conviction, Sergei Mavrodi launched "MMM Global Republic of Bitcoin" around 2015. Members were told to provide "help" (donations) to other members — largely in Bitcoin — in exchange for promised returns of about 30% per month, plus referral bonuses, with no underlying business generating the returns. [1][2]
Collapse
It was a textbook Ponzi: new deposits paid earlier participants. The scheme spread to 80+ countries (with large followings in South Africa, Nigeria, and Asia). It froze accounts and collapsed in 2016, with Mavrodi reportedly going into hiding; researchers who studied its on-chain flows found a large share of participants never profited. Mavrodi died in 2018. [1][2][3]
Bracketed numbers refer to the numbered sources listed below.
Sources (3)
See also
- Gala Games exploitTokensOn May 20, 2024 an attacker abused a privileged minter account on the GALA token contract to mint 5 billion GALA (≈$200M+ nominal) and dumped ~600M of them for ~$22M of ETH before Gala froze the address. Gala Games called it an internal access-control failure; the attacker later returned the ~$22M.
- HEX / PulseChain (Richard Heart)ProjectsCrypto projects (HEX, PulseChain, PulseX) created by Richard Heart (Richard Schueler). In July 2023 the U.S. SEC sued him for offering unregistered securities that raised $1B+ and for allegedly misappropriating ~$12M for luxury goods (including a 555-carat diamond). A court dismissed the case in 2024 for lack of U.S. jurisdiction; there was no finding of wrongdoing and Heart denies the allegations.
This page was last updated on Jun 15, 2026. View revision history.