“The alleged Ponzi scheme attracted over 3,000 victims by offering guaranteed returns on contracts tied to various assets.”, — write: www.coindesk.com
The suspect, identified as AR and known online as “CryptoSpain,” allegedly ran the Madeira Invest Club, which began operations in early 2023 and marketed itself as a private investment group, the Ministry of Interior said.
According to the ministry, the scheme attracted over 3,000 victims by offering guaranteed returns on contracts tied to digital art, luxury vehicles, whiskey, real estate and cryptocurrencies.
Promised profits and buyback guarantees were part of the pitch, but authorities say no real economic activity of investment took place. Instead, the club operated as a Ponzi scheme, where earlier participants were paid with funds from new investors, according to the ministry.
As the operation expanded, the operation built a complex network of shell companies and bank accounts spanning at least 10 countries, including Portugal, the UK, the US, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
The investigation, known as Operation PONEI, involved Europol and law enforcement agencies from the US, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand among others.
A deep dive into Zcash’s zero-knowledge architecture, shielded transaction growth, and its path to becoming encrypted Bitcoin at scale.
- Shielded adoption surgedwith 20–25% of circulating ZEC now held in encrypted addresses and 30% of transactions involving the shielded pool.
- The Zashi wallet made shielded transfers the default, pushing privacy from optional to standard practice.
- Project Tachyonled by Sean Bowe, aims to boost throughput to thousands of private transactions per second.
- Zcash surpassed Monero in market share, becoming the largest privacy-focused cryptocurrency by capitalization.
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As crypto trading volumes collapse in South Korea, retail investors are flocking to the stock market, fueling a state-backed AI-driven rally that’s replaced altcoin mania with semiconductor fever.
- Trading on Upbit and Bithumb has plunged up to 80% year-over-year, with Korean retail participation and volatility collapsing across major crypto pairs.
- The KOSPI index has surged more than 70% in 2025, led by AI chip giants Samsung Electronics and SK hynix — whose explosive gains have drawn millions of new retail investors.
- Korean traders haven’t abandoned speculation — they’ve simply shifted it. As margin lending and leveraged ETFs surge, equities have become the country’s new “casino.”
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