Beijing Investigates First Blockchain Pyramid-Selling Assistance Case; Involved Company Fined and Confiscated Over 930,000 Yuan

On October 29, reports from the Beijing Daily app indicated that the Haidian District Market Regulation Bureau in Beijing has handled the city’s first case involving the use of blockchain and virtual currency technologies to assist in pyramid selling activities. The implicated technology company faced fines and asset confiscations totaling over 930,000 yuan. As an outsourced service provider for a specific public blockchain, the company delivered support encompassing operations, marketing, promotional campaigns, exchange integration, and system maintenance.

The public blockchain introduced the "Atomic Plan" and "Hathaway Plan," which centered on referral-based rebates. Participants were required to invest funds to secure membership eligibility, with payouts determined by the number of recruits they brought in. Despite knowing that pyramid schemes were operating on the chain, the company continued to provide technical maintenance, external publicity, and virtual currency trading channel upkeep, thereby facilitating the flow of illicit funds and the spread of the scheme. To date, public security authorities have investigated and shut down the pyramid operations on this blockchain, and all implicated organizers have been placed under criminal detention.