Author: Carl, TECHUB NEWS

Editor: junge

"I never thought JPEX would get into trouble!"

In the eyes of many victims of the JPEX case, JPEX was a compliant exchange, endorsed by numerous celebrity KOLs, with JPEX advertisements everywhere on the streets of Hong Kong, "you can't not believe it."

After the JPEX incident, victims discovered that the KOLs were just playing tricks, filled with exaggerated and false promotions.

"Sell a kidney to increase investment, borrow money from wife, parents, and children to increase investment," "This year's target is 0.1U, come back to me if it doesn't hit," "Opportunities for hundredfold coins, All in," "Market cap may exceed USDT, BNB"…

After the incident, KOLs involved with JPEX all claimed to be victims, however, from the police's actions, they almost all might be suspected of conspiracy to commit fraud. In fact, the KOLs' tireless promotion of JPEX was backed by the high returns JPEX provided.

One victim stated that JPEX might have been a scam from the beginning, and the exchange was just a facade.

1. All in, at least 3 times return rate

On October 8, "Hong Coin Speaker" founder "Dong Ji" Cai Xiaodong was arrested by the police when returning to Hong Kong from the airport. As of now, 28 people have been arrested in the JPEX case.

Regarding Dong Ji's arrest, JPEX victim Haden (pseudonym) was not surprised at all. He stated, "From the exaggerated promotion of JPEX to being at odds with JPEX, Dong Ji changed his stance too quickly; one must take responsibility for what they have done."

Previously, Cai Xiaodong posted on social media stating, "I will never stand with JPEX." He also revealed that he had "lost over 95% of his assets" due to the JPEX case and described believing in the JPEX scam platform as the biggest mistake of his life.

Haden is one of the many victims of the JPEX case. Before this year, he had only heard about virtual currencies and had not truly engaged with them, but he "lost over 100,000 in one go during the JPEX incident, and may never want to touch virtual currencies again; my family is almost scolding me to death."

Regarding the JPEX scam, Haden expressed, "I had doubts from the very beginning, but for various reasons, you just unconsciously believed it."

In March this year, Haden attended a Web3 seminar introduced by a friend, where Dong Ji introduced JPEX and its advantages, return rates, etc., and revealed that he had initiated four All in JPC actions, each time perfectly entering the market, with a return rate of at least 3 times.

"At least a 3 times return rate, absolutely impossible." This was Haden's first reaction, but under his friend's persuasion, he decided to join the group to understand the situation and downloaded the app to recharge 1,000 yuan.

"There was a bit of a lucky mindset; I could afford to lose 1,000, and what if I made money? I couldn't miss the opportunity to earn."

After recharging to buy JPEX's platform token JPC, Haden received interest daily, and the price of JPC was also rising, which excited Haden immensely.

Later, Haden learned from friends that he could buy more JPC, stake it to become a node, and earn over 60% annually, but Haden hesitated, as it required recharging tens of thousands.

In May, Dong Ji held a seminar at the Kowloon Bay International Trade and Exhibition Centre, themed "The Future of JPC After June Licensing." Dong Ji stated during the seminar that a new licensing system would soon take effect in Hong Kong, and JPEX was applying for a license in conjunction with a listed company. JPC was about to enter a period of explosive growth, with a target price of 10 times in 2024.

During the seminar, Dong Ji also launched a limited-time event called "Dong Pavilion Appointment," where users could participate by exchanging USDT for a specified amount on the day of the seminar. Dong Ji promised that if the price of JPC was below 0.02U on January 1, 2024, he would refund 30%-50% of the USDT exchanged amount.

According to Haden's recollection, the venue, which claimed to hold 1,500 people, was almost full, and the atmosphere was very lively. Dong Ji also shared some emotional investment stories, and everyone almost believed that JPC would only rise and not fall. "Dong Ji even said to take losses if you lose; in that situation, anyone questioning would probably worry about being beaten."

What ultimately made Haden decide to increase his investment was the words of a fellow friend—"Hong Kong's policies support it, there are JPEX advertisements everywhere on the subway and streets, so many celebrities promoting JPEX, how could it be fake?" Previously, Haden had seen JPEX advertisements in many places, including the subway, buses, streets, and giant posters on building exteriors.

Thus, Haden recharged 50,000 HKD and became a node for JPC. He stated, "I consider my recharge to be small; many people are increasing their investments by hundreds of thousands."

After that, the virtual currency in Haden's account kept growing, the enthusiasm in the community was high, and more people continued to increase their investments, which made Haden more convinced of the correctness of his decision, and he continued to increase his investment several times.

"If nothing had happened, my virtual currency value would have exceeded 200,000 by now. But now it's almost worth nothing."

On October 4, JPEX announced a "DAO Stakeholder Dividend Plan," claiming that 68% of users agreed to it. The JPEX platform would operate in DAO form, and holders of DAO stakeholder dividends would have voting rights. Users who agreed to subscribe to DAO stakeholder dividends could gradually receive platform dividends.

Haden stated, "This is a complete scam; I didn't vote at all, and many people around me didn't vote either. Where did the 68% come from?"

Even more incredible is that Haden's other virtual currencies on the JPEX platform, such as USDT and ETH, were automatically converted into JPC.

Currently, the JPEX platform shows that the price of JPC is 0.008U, down over 80% from half a month ago, and it cannot be exchanged for USDT, nor can it be withdrawn.

2. Sell a kidney to increase investment, if it doesn't rise, compensation guaranteed

Several victims revealed similar experiences to Techub News, with the tricks being almost the same, and the promotion of investment returns in JPEX being very exaggerated.

Victim Savia (pseudonym) stated, "The less you have, the more daring you are to speak; they can say anything exaggerated."

Savia is a KOL in the cryptocurrency circle, also known as "Coin Young Master" or "BSY." According to media reports, Savia previously worked as a swimming coach and was sentenced to 160 hours of community service for stealing a phone. Later, around 2015, he made his first bucket of gold by buying Bitcoin and claimed to be "the first person in Hong Kong blockchain."

According to Savia's display, in a popular video in the community, Coin Young Master stated, "If the price of JPC drops, you have to increase your investment; if it drops by 10%, 20%, 30%, or 40%, you have to increase your investment; if it drops by more than 50%, sell a kidney to increase your investment; if it drops by 60% or 70%, borrow money from your wife, parents, and siblings to increase your investment. I see this year's target price for JPC is 0.1U; come back to me if it doesn't hit."

Coin Young Master stated at an event that the importance of the JPC chain is comparable to Hong Kong's infrastructure, "As long as you have the guts, anyone can become Coin Young Master."

Coin Young Master also once live-streamed with another KOL, Lin Zuo, who was promoted as "the future Chief Executive of Hong Kong."

According to media reports, Lin Zuo, after being released on bail in the JPEX case, also stated, "Every time I come back, I only get stronger. The ultimate step: Chief Executive of Hong Kong."

Lin Zuo often attracts attention with shocking actions. Previously, he was fired by an insurance company for cold-blooded hype of a murder case, and he also stated that 90% of the contestants for Miss Hong Kong are ugly, publicly shared half-naked photos of his girlfriend, questioned whether Chen Kailin and her brother were not born to their parents, and was willing to offer 1 million for a DNA test.

Another victim, A Dao (pseudonym), stated that Lin Zuo self-proclaimed as the godfather of the cryptocurrency circle, once promoted that the market cap of JPC would exceed USDT and even BNB, and revealed that he had heavily invested in JPC, with an investment of over 7 million HKD.

In July this year, Lin Zuo publicly stated that he had applied to become a partner of JPEX. Multiple victims indicated that Lin Zuo had a special relationship with JPEX.

According to one victim's display, Lin Zuo renamed his community to "Cryptocurrency Justice Alliance," claiming to rectify all false statements about Hong Kong's cryptocurrency circle. However, "Lin Zuo mainly wants to vindicate JPEX; previously, someone continuously exposed JPEX's dark side, and Lin Zuo tried every means to discredit the exposer, claiming that someone had hired thugs with a lot of money to smear JPEX."

Additionally, Lin Zuo claimed that through his OTC store, he could trade on different platforms, but in fact, he only allowed customers to trade through JPEX, reasoning that "there's a lot of dirty money; cooperating with JPEX can ensure the safety of funds and provide better after-sales service."

Regarding the risks of JPEX, Lin Zuo stated on social media, "The only risk is the platform going bankrupt. But with my vision and analysis, this momentum is very safe."

Among the KOLs and institutions promoting JPEX, CryptoPARD may have influenced the most people. According to one victim, CryptoPARD has tens of thousands of clients, and almost everyone uses JPEX. Based on this calculation, the number of victims of JPEX far exceeds the more than 2,000 reported by the police.

According to CryptoPARD's official website, it is Hong Kong's first cryptocurrency academy, with branches in Mong Kok and Tsim Sha Tsui. The founder and CEO is Xiao Long Sir (Chen Xiaolong). According to media reports, on October 5, Chen Xiaolong and a former director of CryptoPARD were arrested by the Hong Kong police.

3. Monthly income of one million, the exchange may just be a facade

Since the JPEX incident, there has been much controversy, and victims have expressed confusion.

Haden told Techub News, "Why are there so many celebrity KOLs standing for JPEX? Why can there be so many JPEX advertisements on the MTR, buses, and streets in Hong Kong? So many celebrities, their advertisements are everywhere in Hong Kong; it's hard not to believe, this needs an explanation."

Victim A Dao believes that behind the KOLs' vigorous promotion is JPEX's promise of very large benefits to the KOLs.

A Dao showed Techub News a screenshot of what appears to be JPEX's monthly salary standards for KOLs. The screenshot shows that if the number of downline members exceeds 50, one can become a partner of JPEX. If the total assets of the downline exceed 60,000 U, one can receive a monthly salary of 2,000-2,500 USD. If the number of downline members exceeds 200 and the total assets exceed 500,000 U, one can receive a monthly salary of around 20,000 USD.

Lin Zuo once stated on social media that he taught 5,000 students, "Former insurance clients are coming back to find me, clients with 500,000 or hundreds of thousands, more than a dozen in two consecutive days." Lin Zuo also stated that his average monthly income from insurance was 300,000, and now his monthly income exceeds one million.

Additionally, according to media reports, KOL Bai Bing, who refused to cooperate with JPEX, revealed that in June this year, he received an invitation from JPEX with an annual salary of nearly one million to assist in promoting the platform and cryptocurrency, requiring only to produce more than ten videos within a year. "If I can receive nearly one million with my level of fame, how much do you think other famous artists would receive?"

Haden stated that the KOL celebrities currently promoting JPEX have all been punished, but no one is responsible for the advertisements on the MTR, buses, and streets. "If there weren't so many advertisements, many people wouldn't believe in JPEX, and there wouldn't be so many victims."

According to media reports, an advertising industry insider revealed that they received a commission from JPEX for advertising this year, "They were very generous, willing to pay seven digits, but strangely, when we asked them to provide company documents, data, advertising selling points, and direction, they were never able to submit them, only saying 'JPEX is great,' which made us suspicious about the company's background, and ultimately we did not cooperate."

A Dao stated that JPEX is not a real cryptocurrency exchange in the true sense; the exchange is just a facade. "Who the boss is remains unknown; rumors say it is a 'king of gamblers' who was born and educated in Hong Kong. JPEX operates very differently from all other exchanges; other exchanges offer rebates based on trading fees, while JPEX offers rebates based on the total assets of the downline, which is akin to profiting from recruiting people, very similar to a Ponzi scheme."

According to JPEX's official website, JPEX offers rebates that can reach up to 100,000 U based on levels, and the levels are related to the number of invitations and the average assets of valid invitees.