ZachXBT Helps Freeze $41.5 Million After $150 Million Crypto Ponzi Scheme Collapses

A crypto Ponzi scheme operating under the names DSJ Exchange and BG Wealth Sharing collapsed last week, with on-chain investigator ZachXBT estimating total losses exceed $150 million. The scheme had been running since 2025 and accumulated thousands of victims before falling apart.

Between April 27 and May 3, operators moved more than $92 million in illicit funds across multiple blockchain networks in an apparent attempt to obscure the trail. Approximately $63 million of those funds flowed to custody provider Cobo across four identified wallet addresses on the Tron network.

How the Money Was Traced

ZachXBT said the case came to his attention while he was reviewing USDD contract flows for an unrelated investigation. After identifying the consolidation pattern, he traced outflows across Solana and Tron, matched deposit addresses to Binance accounts through timing analysis, and provided the findings to exchanges, law enforcement, and stablecoin issuers.

The coordination moved quickly. On May 4, Tether froze $38.4 million in funds connected to the scheme. A further $3.1 million was frozen across other platforms, bringing the total amount immobilised to more than $41.5 million. ZachXBT said he worked directly with Tether, Binance’s security team, OKX, and US law enforcement throughout the process.

Who Was Targeted

ZachXBT described the scheme as a Chinese investment fraud deliberately designed to target unsophisticated retail investors through social media channels. The mechanics were straightforward enough that experienced crypto users would likely have identified it quickly, but the operators relied on reaching people with limited familiarity with how these schemes work.

Reading through victim accounts on Reddit after publishing his findings, ZachXBT said many affected users were still in denial about having been defrauded. He urged anyone affected to file a police report in their local jurisdiction, directing US victims specifically to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.

The $150 million figure, he added, is likely a significant underestimate. The scheme operated for well over a year and thousands of victim exchange withdrawals have been identified, suggesting the actual losses may be considerably higher once the full picture emerges.

A Note on the Investigation

ZachXBT said that Ponzi scheme investigations are not cases he typically pursues, describing them as lacking the complexity of the hacks and exploits he more commonly analyses. The repetitive nature of the work means he rarely takes them on. This one was an exception, caught by chance while he was working on something else entirely.