Home Business Kenyans Lose Ksh1.1 billion in a Chinese Bitcoin scam

Kenyans Lose Ksh1.1 billion in a Chinese Bitcoin scam

by Kwabe Ben

Thousands of Kenyans are reported to have lost Ksh1.1 billion in a new chinese cryptocurrency scam.

The individuals were lured into the Ponzi scheme after a promise of a daily return of investment of between 5% and 8%.

According to a cryptocurrency website Bitcoin.com, the individuals were duped by a company Christened Bitstream Circle whose records showed that it was registered in the United Kingdom.

The scheme as per the publication-, expanded to include 11,000 members from up to seven countries and it showed Chinese National Quin Yang as the registered director.

Having an attractive interest package, the site quickly enticed buyers and sellers of the cryptocurrency who invested in the scheme before it collapsed.

Troubles began on March 13, whereby investors were unable to withdraw their money even though the company quickly issued a clarification that it had been a system upgrade despite the prolonged failure of up to five hours.

On March 11, Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru confirmed that Kenyans had lost over ksh13.7billion to the cryptocurrency scams in a fiscal year.

“In the last financial year, did you know that Kenyans lost about USD120 million in scams on cryptocurrency? That is a crime. It is being reported out there but many of your readers are being caught up in some of these things and end up suffering on their own,” he said.

Addressing the matter, he urged the press to ensure proper information regarding the investment markets is provided to prevent Kenyans from falling for financial scams. “you can be giving people a lot of guidance on where they should invest and how they can protect themselves ,” Mr. Mucheru urged the media personnel.

Kenya has emerged among the fastest growing cryptocurrency markets with many businesses locally now accepting cryptocurrency, mostly bitcoin, as a means for payments. Hence the scams only expound on the losses Kenyans have incurred in an attempt to invest in the emerging cryptocurrency market as it gains momentum on the continent.

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