5 Shady Crypto Projects That Made It to the Spotlight

Key takeaways

• Crypto investigator ZachXBT criticized Token2049 for poor sponsor vetting, warning that platinum sponsorships don’t equate to legitimacy. A number of sponsors he flagged turned out to have shady information.

• JPEX and HyperVerse used occasion sponsorships to undertaking credibility. Each later collapsed below fraud investigations, inflicting billions in investor losses and arrests.

• Crimson flags embrace nameless groups, low liquidity, overhyped advertising, poor tokenomics and listings solely on obscure exchanges. 

• What drives these cash isn’t innovation however hypothesis, influencer buzz and cult-like followings, highlighting how unpredictability fuels their survival.

Within the unpredictable cryptocurrency market, sure digital belongings live on regardless of dealing with controversies, important worth drops or missing substantial underlying worth. Although flagged as shady cash, they proceed drawing appreciable curiosity from devoted followers. This sustained engagement is commonly pushed by speculative pleasure, robust neighborhood assist and the attract of fast earnings.

ZachXBT, a widely known crypto sleuth, made some observations by way of his Telegram channel on a couple of sponsors of Token2049, a significant crypto occasion. He felt the organizers of such occasions do little due diligence on their sponsors and {that a} undertaking being a platinum sponsor doesn’t enhance credibility. He went on posting on his channel about sketchy Token2049 sponsors.

This text explores why some cash exhibit a exceptional persistence regardless of being sketchy. It discusses 5 shady cash that proceed drawing crypto investors and investigates the explanations for his or her longevity. It’ll additionally clarify how beginner merchants can defend themselves from such tasks.

Why shady cash survive regardless of the percentages

Regardless of weak fundamentals, many questionable cryptocurrencies persist available in the market. Whereas most fail shortly, some survive or briefly thrive resulting from particular components. These embrace:

• Speculative buying and selling: Sharp worth fluctuations appeal to risk-tolerant merchants in search of fast earnings.

• Devoted communities: Loyal supporters, usually pushed by memes or nostalgia, maintain these tasks alive.

• Low market liquidity: Restricted trading activity permits massive buyers or insiders to affect costs, drawing in speculators.

• Periodic hype: Social media tendencies, influencer endorsements or surprising information can briefly increase curiosity in these cash.

Do you know? From “1,000x assured returns” to “satellite-powered DeFi,” scammy tasks usually use flashy narratives to hook merchants. When the claims are daring with out proof, cash are prone to be sketchy.

5 shady cash refusing to die

ZachXBT mentioned a couple of sponsors of TOKEN2049, which persist throughout the unpredictable crypto market regardless of opaque operations. He talked about the next cash as sketchy:

Spacecoin (SPACE)

• Origin: Launched by Gluwa in 2024-2025 and the title sponsor of Token2049, Spacecoin goals to be the world’s first decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) powered by satellites. It claims its decentralized satellite tv for pc community will present international 5G web to the two.9 billion individuals who presently lack entry, to attach all the world.

• Controversies: Onchain investigator ZachXBT labeled Spacecoin as “botted” and unreliable, questioning its legitimacy. Whereas botted will be interpreted in some ways, not one of the meanings is flattering.

• Why questionable: There are issues surrounding Spacecoin. For instance, in June 2022, it claimed to have undergone a number of months of refinement and good contract auditing, with out naming a selected audit agency, and no public report was supplied. Furthermore, there is no such thing as a verifiable documentation relating to the launch of satellites. 

• What sustains it: Robust promotional efforts, occasion sponsorships and speculative curiosity, together with a devoted neighborhood and media consideration, maintain restricted buying and selling exercise alive.

JuCoin 

• Origin: JuCoin, beforehand Jubi, is a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange established in 2013, with its JU token and CeDeFi services expanding its ecosystem by 2025. 

• Controversies: ZachXBT flagged JuCoin as a “sketchy” platinum sponsor of Token2049, citing a historical past of possession modifications, rebrands and regulatory pivots.

• Why questionable: JuCoin lacks regulation in main markets, although it has utilized for a license in Taiwan. The undertaking shouldn’t be regulated within the US, EU or different main markets having strong regulatory requirements, other than Singapore’s Financial Authority.

• What sustains it: Hypothesis across the token and an aggressive advertising drive for buying and selling exercise. 

Weex

• Origin: Weex is a Singapore-registered crypto futures platform working since 2018 and providing nameless buying and selling and bonus incentives. 

• Controversies: Weex shouldn’t be regulated by any monetary authority with strict requirements.

• Why questionable: There have been social media posts complaining of surprising conduct on the change, together with frozen accounts and surprising Know Your Customer (KYC) points.

• What sustains it: The attraction of futures buying and selling, speculative curiosity in high-yield alternatives keep buying and selling quantity and aggressive promotions maintain driving it.

DWF 

• Origin: Listed as a platinum sponsor at Token2049, DWF is a sketchy market maker, in accordance with ZachXBT, that conducts trades on over 60 exchanges and is engaged in high-profile investments. It has little publicly obtainable details about its background or staff. 

• Controversies: It might have been included on ZachXBT’s record resulting from prior accusations of wash trading as a market maker and a more moderen allegation of a “rug pull” from Vite Labs.

• Why questionable: On March 27, 2025, Vite Labs stated its improvement funds have been “rugged” by DWF’s market-making providers and Binance’s choice to delist the undertaking. 

• What sustains it: Recognition from convention sponsorships, promotional narratives and speculative hype round listings retains minimal trading interest alive.

Bitunix 

• Origin: Based round 2021, Butunix is a crypto change registered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It presents spot and futures buying and selling. 

• Controversies: Labeled “sketchy” by ZachXBT in all probability for drawing the scrutiny of South Korea’s Monetary Intelligence Unit (FIU), which is a part of the Monetary Providers Fee (FSC), for offering providers to Korean clients with out the required registration.

• Why questionable: Restricted regulatory oversight and an unclear company construction undermine belief. 

• What sustains it: Buying and selling quantity is pushed by listings of niche altcoins, bonus incentives and speculative merchants in search of fast earnings.

Do you know? Corporations like CertiK or Hacken audit authentic good contracts. Many sketchy cash declare “inner audits” or just skip them solely, exposing customers to bugs or exploits.

Earlier cases of sketchy tasks posing as sponsors

Listed below are two instances when shady crypto tasks grew to become sponsors of distinguished occasions, solely to make use of the credibility that they had earned to dupe buyers:

JPEX

At Token2049 in Singapore, JPEX contributed $70,000 to turn out to be a platinum sponsor, utilizing it to seem authentic. Nevertheless, after Hong Kong regulators issued warnings in mid-September 2023, JPEX deserted its sales space and disappeared from the occasion by the second day. 

Shortly afterward, the change halted withdrawals, charged extreme charges of 999 USDt (USDT) on 1,000-USDT transactions and confronted 1000’s of complaints accusing it of fraud and working and not using a license. Authorities arrested a number of people, froze belongings and estimated investor losses at over 1 billion Hong Kong {dollars}.

HyperVerse

HyperVerse hosted lavish promotional occasions, together with a $3,500-per-person get together on a $40-million Seafair megayacht in Florida, that includes rapper Rick Ross, to current itself as a prestigious crypto and metaverse platform. It claimed to be growing a “good digital world” and promised every day returns to draw buyers worldwide. 

Nevertheless, US regulators later revealed that HyperVerse was a Ponzi scheme that defrauded buyers of roughly $1.89 billion. Key promoters, together with Steven Lewis and Brenda Chunga, have been charged by the US Securities and Alternate Fee for working a fraudulent pyramid scheme.

Do you know? Some shady cash use bots to create pretend buying and selling quantity and trick platforms into rating them larger. It is advisable to analysis effectively earlier than investing.

What beginner merchants ought to be careful for

For these new to cryptocurrency, figuring out suspicious cash early can forestall monetary loss and stress. Listed below are key components to think about when evaluating a cryptocurrency: 

• Analysis the staff and undertaking historical past: Search for warning indicators corresponding to nameless founders, frequent rebrands or a scarcity of respected partnerships. 

• Consider advertising techniques: Be cautious of cash promoted by means of aggressive advertising, together with meme-driven social media, paid influencer endorsements or unrealistic claims like “assured 100x returns.” 

• Assess liquidity: Cash with low buying and selling quantity or concentrated possession are inclined to cost manipulation by insiders. 

• Study tokenomics: Look ahead to crimson flags like excessively large token supply, unclear token-burning processes or allocations closely favoring insiders, which can point out dangers of price manipulation or scams. 

• Confirm change listings: Cash listed solely on lesser-known or poorly regulated exchanges might lack transparency. 

• Examine previous points: Analysis any historical past of issues, corresponding to halted withdrawals, scams or regulatory warnings. 

• Use dependable instruments and diversify: Keep away from relying solely on influencers or trending charts. As a substitute, use onchain analytics to watch pockets exercise and diversify investments to restrict threat.

Shady cash usually act as warnings slightly than real funding alternatives. They appeal to buyers with guarantees of huge earnings, however they sometimes conceal manipulative schemes, unclear staff backgrounds and weak fundamentals. Regardless of frequent market crashes or controversies, these cash persist as a result of unpredictable, community-driven nature of crypto markets.

This text doesn’t comprise funding recommendation or suggestions. Each funding and buying and selling transfer entails threat, and readers ought to conduct their very own analysis when making a call.