Thousands of Nigerians are reeling from massive financial losses following the reported collapse of CBEX, a digital asset trading platform that allegedly siphoned over ₦1.3 trillion from investors’ accounts.
The platform went offline on Monday after users discovered their digital wallets had been drained. Shortly after, CBEX locked its Telegram channels, halted withdrawals, and introduced a controversial “verification” scheme—offering investors a $2,000 balance for a $200 fee, or $1,000 for $100.
During a live discussion hosted by Trending X on the X platform, cryptocurrency expert and security analyst Taiwo Owolabi revealed that approximately $847 million in USDT had already been funneled into a TRX wallet address, with the figure still climbing.
“CBEX is not a licensed trading platform,” Owolabi stated. “They built a weak imitation of ByBit to look legitimate. What investors saw in their accounts were just numbers—no real funds existed. The so-called AI trading was fake, and withdrawals were made using other investors’ money. It was essentially a Ponzi scheme.”
He explained the platform’s scam structure: payments were routed into a TRX account, quickly converted to USDT, then to ETH, leaving users with empty digital wallets. Owolabi said many victims were drawn in by CBEX’s promise of 100% return on investment in 30 days.
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Despite the collapse, CBEX is still asking users to pay for “verification” to unlock fake balances, a tactic Owolabi warned is designed to exploit more victims. “It’s a typical ‘rob Peter to pay Paul’ model, and when new money stops coming in, the system crashes.”
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has responded by warning Nigerians against investing in unregistered digital trading platforms. Under the recently signed Investment and Securities Act (ISA) 2025, it is now a criminal offence to operate online forex or asset trading platforms without proper registration.
The SEC emphasized that any company planning to provide such services must register with the commission to avoid legal penalties. Section 3(3)(b) of the Act empowers the SEC to regulate all securities and commodity exchanges, including digital asset platforms.
Dr. Emomotimi Agama, Director-General of the SEC, described the law as a critical step toward improving investor protection and transparency in Nigeria’s financial ecosystem.
“We welcome innovation,” Agama said, “but it must happen within a regulated space that protects investors and maintains market integrity.”
As the fallout from CBEX continues to unfold, many Nigerians—particularly women featured in viral videos—have taken to social media in tears, expressing heartbreak over the loss of life savings.
