It all happened when I participated in the Catly Ponzi scheme.
Last year, a friend introduced me to the crypto project "Catly." To earn Catly tokens, you stake your initial sign up bonus, and after a specific period, your staked Catly tokens yield additional tokens, creating a continuous cycle.
When he first told me about it, he had about $17 in his account so when I showed interest, he offered to sell his account to me. Since he already had a some referrals, I bought his account.
Actively involved in the Catly crypto project, I consistently staked and earned rewards, increasing my token holdings. To boost my earning rate, I spent $47 on additional tokens, totaling $64. Enjoying substantial earnings, I withdrew $23, leading to a daily earning rate exceeding $2.
later on my friend who referred me warned me that it resembled a Ponzi scheme suggesting that I unstake and withdraw all my funds but I refused.
When it finally happened, I lost everything, over $100 😔 . They disabled withdrawals saying that they were moving to the next phase that involved launching their mainnet and crediting our wallets with the Catly tokens stuff like that. That stupid naive version of myself actually believed that. Since then up till now, they have done nothing.
Their site still remains functional up till now (catly.io) but I can't withdraw my funds. I ignored my friend's warning and ended up losing everything, only managing to withdraw twice, which didn't cover my initial investment.
I learnt the hard way from this experience. There are many legit crypto projects you can earn from like some airdrop - an example Ice. But a definite red flag is when you're asked to invest real funds to participate or increase your earnings just like in Catly.
And also before you take part in any investment scheme not just crypto related, make thorough investigation and research to avoid losing your funds. This loss made me a new man 😊. Damn!
A Texas man, Frank Richard Ahlgren III, was sentenced to two years in prison for filing false tax returns that underreported capital gains from selling bitcoins worth millions. Between 2017 and 2019, Ahlgren failed to report over $4 million in bitcoin sales, leading to a tax loss of more than $1 million.
In 2017, Ahlgren sold 640 #bitcoins for $3.7 million and used the proceeds to purchase a Utah home, but he falsified his tax return by inflating the cost basis of his bitcoins. In 2018 and 2019, he sold additional bitcoins worth over $650,000 and didn’t report these sales at all. To conceal his transactions, Ahlgren moved bitcoins through multiple wallets, used in-person exchanges for cash, and employed "mixers"—tools designed to obscure transaction origins on the blockchain. He had previously blogged about mixers as a way to add anonymity to bitcoin transactions.
This case marks the first criminal tax evasion prosecution focused entirely on cryptocurrency. Ahlgren was also ordered to pay $1,095,031 in restitution and serve one year of supervised release. Authorities emphasized that cryptocurrency transactions are traceable and urged compliance to avoid severe penalties.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse Supports Elon Musk’s Criticism of the US SEC
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has joined Tesla CEO Elon Musk in criticizing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), intensifying discussions about the future of crypto regulation in the U.S. This collaboration has captured significant attention, especially as market participants look forward to a potentially pro-crypto regulatory environment. Elon Musk Labels the SEC a “Political Tool” Elon Musk’s criticism of the SEC recently gained traction after he described the agency as a “politic
According to Arkham, former Ethereum co-founder Jeffrey Wilcke transferred 20,000 ETH to Kraken Deposit at 19:59 UTC+8 today, worth about $72.5 million.
Jeffrey Wilcke currently still holds 106,000 ETH, worth approximately US$384 million.
💰 Bitcoin Trader Earns $15M in Just Two Weeks! A savvy crypto trader netted over $15 million in two weeks by capitalizing on Bitcoin's bullish run. Selling 619 BTC at an average of $75,029 and later flipping 562 BTC near $93,050, they mastered the market's highs for massive gains.
A recent study by Coinglass analyzing the performance of memecoins promoted by Twitter influencers has revealed a harsh reality: the majority of these tokens ultimately became worthless.
Read the article below to learn more about the results of the research.
The Sobering Truth Behind Meme Coins Promoted by Influencers
A recent analysis by Coinglass has revealed some eye-opening insights into the performance of meme coins promoted by influencers on social media. The study examined 1,567 promoted by 377 influencers over the past three months, using data sourced from Dune Analytics. Each influencer had a following of 10,000 or more. Here’s what the results showed: 1. 76% of the meme coins promoted by influencers are now worthless. 2. 80% of these tokens lost over 70% of their value in the last seven days alone. 3. Only 1% of the promoted meme coins achieved the so-called "10x gain" myth. 4. Just 3% of influencers promoted coins that saw a ten-fold increase in value. 5. The downward trend is staggering: 80% of these meme coins dropped by over 70% in a week.90% lost 80% of their value in a month.86% suffered a 10x decrease in value over three months.
Key Takeaways: Achieving substantial gains (e.g., a 10x return) with influencer-promoted meme coins is almost impossible. Only 1% of influencers promote coins that reach these heights, and only 3% of their shilled tokens ever achieve this level of success.A significant portion of these promotions leads to financial losses for investors, many of whom see their investments nosedive within weeks.
Who Benefits? While investors often face losses, influencers reap substantial profits from these promotions. On average: Influencers earned $399 per promotional post.Each post garnered at least 15,000 views.
Interestingly, the influencer’s follower count played a role in the performance of the promoted meme coins: Influencers with 200,000+ followers were more likely to promote poorly performing coins.Those with less than 50,000 followers had a better track record, with their promoted coins yielding an average return of 141% over three months.
A Deeper Concern The study also noted a potential underestimation of the problem, as researchers could not account for deleted promotional posts. These posts might have been removed to obscure poor performance or fraudulent activity. SOURCE: Cryptopolitan
Final Thoughts Despite the bleak data, I still believe meme coins can offer lucrative opportunities in the crypto space—if approached wisely. Always DYOR (Do Your Own Research) and invest only what you’re willing to lose.
If this post resonates with you, hit the follow button! My next post will explore the key factors to check before investing in meme coins.
The Sobering Truth Behind Meme Coins Promoted by Influencers
A recent analysis by Coinglass has revealed some eye-opening insights into the performance of meme coins promoted by influencers on social media. The study examined 1,567 promoted by 377 influencers over the past three months, using data sourced from Dune Analytics. Each influencer had a following of 10,000 or more. Here’s what the results showed: 1. 76% of the meme coins promoted by influencers are now worthless. 2. 80% of these tokens lost over 70% of their value in the last seven days alone.
This year, the SEC has collected an impressive $8.2 billion in enforcement actions, marking its highest total since 2019, with a significant portion stemming from penalties paid by Terraform Labs.
Without the contributions from Terraform Labs, the SEC’s net collections would have been approximately $3 billion, making this year the agency’s weakest in terms of financial remedies since 2019.
It’s evident why the Gensler-led SEC administration appears so determined to pursue legal actions against cryptocurrency firms.
I ask again: do you believe the recent surge in Bitcoin and other altcoin prices is a result of the aftermath of the Bitcoin halving, or could it be attributed to Donald Trump's victory in the recently concluded U.S. presidential election? I'd like to hear your thoughts.
Cold wallets linked to the defunct crypto exchange Mt. Gox have recently witnessed significant Bitcoin movements totaling around $2 billion.
On Sunday at 11:39 p.m. UTC, a wallet labeled “1FG2C…Rveoy” transferred approximately 27,871 BTC (valued at $2.24 billion) to a new wallet, “1Fhod…QLFRT,” and an additional 2,500 BTC (worth $200 million) to Mt. Gox’s cold wallet, according to data from Arkham Intelligence. Six days prior, this sending wallet had received a total of 30,371 BTC from Mt. Gox.
This latest transfer could signal a new phase of repayments to Mt. Gox creditors as such movements in the past have preceded repayments via centralized exchanges including Bitstamp and Kraken. Mt. Gox currently holds 44,378 bitcoin, Arkham data shows.
For context, Mt. Gox, established in 2010, was once the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange. However, in 2014, it suffered a major security breach, resulting in the loss of over 850,000 BTC. Since then, creditors have been awaiting repayment, and the process has gradually unfolded over recent months.
Cold wallets linked to the defunct crypto exchange Mt. Gox have recently witnessed significant Bitcoin movements totaling around $2 billion.
On Sunday at 11:39 p.m. UTC, a wallet labeled “1FG2C…Rveoy” transferred approximately 27,871 BTC (valued at $2.24 billion) to a new wallet, “1Fhod…QLFRT,” and an additional 2,500 BTC (worth $200 million) to Mt. Gox’s cold wallet, according to data from Arkham Intelligence. Six days prior, this sending wallet had received a total of 30,371 BTC from Mt. Gox.
This latest transfer could signal a new phase of repayments to Mt. Gox creditors as such movements in the past have preceded repayments via centralized exchanges including Bitstamp and Kraken. Mt. Gox currently holds 44,378 bitcoin, Arkham data shows.
For context, Mt. Gox, established in 2010, was once the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange. However, in 2014, it suffered a major security breach, resulting in the loss of over 850,000 BTC. Since then, creditors have been awaiting repayment, and the process has gradually unfolded over recent months.