A major digital scam has hit Nigerian investors as CBEX, a supposed AI-driven asset trading platform promising a 100 per cent return on investment in just 30 days, has reportedly crashed—vanishing with over ₦1.3 trillion.
The platform’s collapse became widely known on Monday when users discovered their wallet balances had suddenly dropped to zero.
Shortly after, CBEX locked all its Telegram channels and postponed withdrawals, introducing what it called a “verification fee” of $100 or $200, depending on how much an investor had previously deposited.
According to findings, the platform moved a staggering $822.8 million (₦1.337 trillion) into a private Ethereum (ETH) wallet just before the crash, with over $847 million already traced in total.
The funds reportedly disappeared the moment they were deposited, not at the time of the crash—meaning users never actually had access to the assets they thought they were trading with.
It is also gathered that CBEX was not a licensed platform and its website was poorly built, mimicking the design of a legitimate exchange like ByBit to appear trustworthy.
Users unknowingly paid into a TRX (Tron) wallet, from which the funds were quickly converted to USDT and then to ETH.
What investors saw on their dashboards were fake balances, manipulated by the platform to reflect non-existent AI trading gains.
In reality, the returns were generated from money coming in from new investors—a textbook Ponzi operation.
The so-called “verification” process introduced after the crash is suspected to be another tactic to keep the scam running.
Those with balances below $1,000 are asked to pay $100, while those with more are to pay $200, supposedly to regain access to their funds.
Analysts warned this is simply a strategy to collect fresh money, some of which may be used to pay a few investors in order to keep the illusion of credibility alive, while the majority remain defrauded.
Recall earlier the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had reacted, warning Nigerians against investing in unregistered platforms.
Backed by the newly signed Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2025, the SEC now has the authority to regulate virtual and digital asset exchanges.
It stated clearly that any entity operating such platforms without proper registration is committing an offence.
Dr. Emomotimi Agama, Director General of the SEC, described the development as a wake-up call for stricter regulation.
He reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to investor protection and market integrity, urging Nigerians to verify the registration status of any platform before investing.
