PlusToken
A wallet-based Ponzi scheme that operated mainly in China and South Korea (2018–2019), promising high returns. Estimates of funds taken range from about $2 billion to over $4 billion; Chinese courts convicted ringleaders in 2020.
Also known as: PlusToken, Plus Token, PLUS
Summary
PlusToken presented itself as a high-yield cryptocurrency wallet, primarily attracting investors in China and South Korea beginning in 2018. Analyses describe it as a Ponzi scheme; estimates of the total taken vary, with Chainalysis tracing roughly $2 billion+ and other reporting and court figures ranging up to about $4 billion. [1][2][3]
Mechanism and scale
Users were promised returns for buying the platform's "Plus" token with Bitcoin or Ethereum. Chainalysis reported tracing large volumes of BTC and ETH from victims into PlusToken wallets and noted that subsequent cash-outs may have affected Bitcoin's price. [3] Reporting indicates the scheme attracted millions of participants. [2][3]
Outcome
Chinese authorities arrested six suspects in Vanuatu in June 2019 and later detained more than 100 people; in 2020 a court in Jiangsu sentenced ringleaders to terms ranging from two to eleven years. [1]
Bracketed numbers refer to the numbered sources listed below.
People & entities involved
Sources (3)
- PlusToken (overview) — Wikipedia
- Millions of people fell for crypto-Ponzi schemes in 2019 — MIT Technology Review
- PlusToken Scammers Stole $2+ Billion Worth of Cryptocurrency — Chainalysis
See also
- Loci (LOCIcoin)TokensA 2017–2018 ICO for 'LOCIcoin' tied to the InnVenn IP-search platform. The SEC charged Loci and CEO John Wise with fraud for raising $7.6M on false claims about revenue, headcount, and user base; Wise also misused investor funds. Settled with a $7.6M penalty and an officer/director bar.
- Blockchain Terminal (BCT)TokensA 2017–2018 ICO (BCT tokens, ~$30M) for a 'Blockchain Terminal' — a Bloomberg-style crypto trading terminal. The SEC and DOJ said convicted ex-hedge-funder Boaz Manor secretly ran it under a fake identity ('Shaun MacDonald'), using associate Edith Pardo as a front, and lied about the product's adoption.
- Crowd Machine (CMCT)Tokens
This page was last updated on Jun 8, 2026. View revision history.