An investigation last month revealed that thousands of people lost millions to crypto fund HyperVerse, a scheme promoted by Australian entrepreneur Sam Lee and his business partner Ryan Xu, the pair behind bankrupt Bitcoin Australia Founder of the company Blockchain Global.
Blockchain Global owes creditors $58 million and its liquidator has charged Xu and Lee with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) for possible breaches of the Corporations Act. ASIC said it did not plan to take action at this time.
The HyperVerse investment scheme appears to have escaped scrutiny in Australia, despite being flagged by overseas regulators as a possible "scam" and "suspected pyramid scheme". The Chainalysis report estimates that consumer losses on HyperVerse will reach approximately US$1.3 billion (AU$1.92 billion) in 2022.
In December 2021, at an online global launch event, a man named Steven Reece Lewis was introduced as the CEO of HyperVerse. The Guardian was unable to verify his identity or contact him for comment. (The Guardian)