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Crypto Collapse in Nigeria: The $800 Million Scam That Shatters Trust

The recent collapse of CBEX, a digital asset trading platform, has left thousands of investors in Nigeria and Kenya devastated.

Promising extraordinary returns of 100% in just 30 days, CBEX exploited the region's economic difficulties to attract users, only to reveal itself as a sophisticated Ponzi scheme.

The platform abruptly ended operations earlier this month, disabling withdrawals and demanding fees for "verification," seen as a desperate ploy to extract further funds.

Angry investors, who had been lured in by promises of quick profits, took to social media and protested at CBEX offices after realizing their funds had vanished.

Reports estimate that the financial damage could exceed 1.3 trillion Naira, approximately 800 million USD, marking it as one of the largest scams in Nigeria's history.

Investigative reports have detailed how CBEX used the TRON blockchain to shuffle investments while simultaneously locking users out of their accounts.

Many victims were left regretting their decision to invest, recalling how they hesitated to withdraw only to find their funds trapped indefinitely.

In addition to financial losses, concerns about compromised user data now loom, with KYC information potentially leaked to the darknet.

The CBEX fallout has drawn unsettling comparisons to previous scams, highlighting systemic vulnerabilities in the region's cryptocurrency landscape.

As regulators and users grapple with the consequences, the need for comprehensive oversight in the crypto space has never been more urgent.