Chinese Bitcoin Exchange GBL Goes Missing Along With $4.1 Million of Client Funds

Wednesday, 13/11/2013 | 17:39 GMT by Avi Mizrahi

GBL, a Beijing based exchange claiming to be registered in Hong Kong, was suspected to be a fraud since its inception earlier this year, on the 26th of October shut down and 1000 investors lost their money.

Chinese Bitcoin Exchange GBL Goes Missing Along With $4.1 Million of Client Funds

GBL, a Chinese Bitcoin Exchange, which claimed to be based in Hong Kong, disappeared recently taking with it RMB¥25 million or $4.1 million worth of clients’ funds.

As Forex Magnates reported recently, Chinese investors' interest in the digital currency is ever-increasing which led to Bitcoin’s price to reach a new all-time high.

Another example has now arisen that, as happens with all financial markets, when the man on the street rushes to buy into a trend, scammers soon follow.

The exchange was only registered on the web, at domain www.btc-glb.com, on the 9th of May, 2013 and immediately raised suspicions among the Bitcoin online community. GBL did not provide any contact information on their site and it seemed that the site’s server was based in Beijing, contradicting its claim to be based in Hong Kong.

Over a thousand investors however, did not seem to notice the warning signs and on the 26th of October, when GBL vanished without a trace, lost all their money according to Chinese media reports.

GBL, a Chinese Bitcoin Exchange, which claimed to be based in Hong Kong, disappeared recently taking with it RMB¥25 million or $4.1 million worth of clients’ funds.

As Forex Magnates reported recently, Chinese investors' interest in the digital currency is ever-increasing which led to Bitcoin’s price to reach a new all-time high.

Another example has now arisen that, as happens with all financial markets, when the man on the street rushes to buy into a trend, scammers soon follow.

Over a thousand investors however, did not seem to notice the warning signs and on the 26th of October, when GBL vanished without a trace, lost all their money according to Chinese media reports.