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Things are not looking great. It is evident that many big players made reckless choices when the markets were good. With prices crashing, their bad choices are worsening the situation. They say bear markets are necessary to remove weak links and this is exactly whats happening. In today’s roll up, we cover some of the bad apples in crypto.

GainBitcoin Scam is Bigger than Expected

The sheer scale of the GainBitcoin cryptocurrency scam that rocked the nation some time back is turning out to be way bigger than previously thought, with reports suggesting that around one lakh victims may have lost more than Rs 1 trillion in the scam. A total of 40 FIRs were registered by victims (more than 13 FIRs in Maharashtra alone), and a large number of people from other states may have also lost their hard-earned savings in the GainBitcoin scam. Amit Bhardwaj, the mastermind behind this scam, died earlier this year due to cardiac arrest.

Like most of the Ponzi schemes, GainBitcoin also had a pyramid, multilevel marketing scheme, with Amit Bhardwaj at the top and then his 'Seven Stars' who used to operate in India and abroad. They guaranteed a 10 percent monthly return in Bitcoin-on-Bitcoin deposits for 18 months via multilevel marketing programmes. Currently, all eyes are on Ajay Bhardwaj, the brother of Amit Bhardwaj and the prime accused in the GainBitcoin scam. In March, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) urged the Supreme Court to issue directions to one of the accused in the GainBitcoin scam to provide access, as well as the username and password, to his crypto wallet, contending that the issue of "legality of crypto currency" does not arise in the matter, as it is a Ponzi scheme.

https://www.thequint.com/tech-and-auto/tech-news/gainbitcoin-india-biggest-crypto-scam-is-bigger-than-expected#read-more

CoinSwitch launches benchmark index for crypto market in Indian Rupee

Crypto company CoinSwitch on Thursday launched what it said is India’s first benchmark index to measure the performance of Indian Rupee-based crypto market. Crypto Rupee Index (CRE8) tracks eight crypto assets representing over 85 per cent of the total market capitalisation of digital assets traded in the Indian Rupee. The index, available at coinswitch.co/crypto-index, is based on real trades on the CoinSwitch app that has 18 million registered users.

“CRE8 is a demonstration of our commitment to bring more transparency to the Crypto market and equip users with a simple, easy-to-understand measure of the Indian market,” said Ashish Singhal, co-founder and CEO of CoinSwitch. The index provides real-time insight into the crypto market based on actual transactions on CoinSwitch; is refreshed over 1,400 times a day to ensure reflection of real-time market movement. The index will be rebalanced monthly and reconstituted every quarter to stay up to date with the market.

https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/coinswitch-launches-benchmark-index-for-crypto-market-in-indian-rupee-122060201121_1.html

DeFi Platform Celsius Halts Withdrawals

Last week, with crypto markets already in freefall, controversial crypto lender Celsius announced it was suddenly pausing all customer withdrawals, swaps, and transfers. "We are taking this action today to put Celsius in a better position to honor, over time, its withdrawal obligations," the company wrote in a blog post on Medium. "We are taking this necessary action for the benefit of our entire community in order to stabilize liquidity and operations while we take steps to preserve and protect assets. Furthermore, customers will continue to accrue rewards during the pause in line with our commitment to our customers."

This news had a devastating effect on the platform's CEL token as it crashed by 70%. In an already downtrending market, this development put further downward pressure on prices causing them to fall even more. Many people are comparing this collapse to Luna's as Celsius offered APYs of 9% and above on stablecoins which many thought was not sustainable. With over $10 billion in assets, Celsius' troubles are a massive blow for the entire crypto industry.

https://decrypt.co/102715/celsius-tanks-as-company-pauses-withdrawals-citing-liquidity