CBEX: Nigerians Lose N1.3tn as Digital Trading Platform Crashes
Thousands of Nigerians have been left reeling from heavy financial losses after a digital asset trading platform, CBEX, suddenly shut down operations on Monday, wiping out an estimated ₦1.3 trillion in investor funds.
Users flooded social media platforms to express shock and outrage as the platform – which operated without approval from the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) – abruptly froze withdrawals, locked its Telegram communities, and offered dubious “verification” options demanding additional payments for partial refunds.
CBEX allegedly enticed investors with promises of a 100% return on investment (ROI) and AI-powered trading features. However, the platform’s crash has now exposed what many experts believe to be a sophisticated digital scam.
Cybersecurity analyst and crypto expert, Taiwo Owolabi, revealed during a live discussion on X (formerly Twitter) that the platform had siphoned off at least $847 million worth of funds in USDT, with that number expected to rise. Owolabi detailed how CBEX manipulated users through fake trading dashboards and redirected deposits through a web of wallets, making it difficult to trace or recover the funds.
“Everything users saw on their dashboards was just numbers,” he explained. “The supposed daily trading profits were fabricated. In reality, your deposit was moved into TRX wallets, converted to USDT, and then to ETH. Withdrawals were often funded using deposits from other users – a classic Ponzi setup.”
Public frustration mounted online, with many Nigerians questioning the repeated patterns of gullibility in the face of get-rich-quick schemes. One user, Steve Fred, posted, “How many times will Nigerians be scammed before they learn? CBEX promised 100% ROI in one month, and people rushed to invest. Are we not just fantastically naive?”
Another user, Oku, added, “Any business promising 50% to 100% return is already suspect. The smaller the profit, the more trustworthy it is. People need to wake up.”
The platform’s collapse comes just weeks after the SEC issued a stern warning against engaging with unregistered digital trading platforms. In accordance with the newly signed Investment and Securities Act (ISA) 2025, the commission declared it illegal for any entity to operate online forex or asset trading services in Nigeria without proper registration.
“By virtue of this Act, it is an offense in Nigeria for any entity that is not registered by the Commission to carry out the business of online foreign exchange trading platforms or related services,” the SEC said in a recent statement. The commission urged aspiring firms to consult with its Department of Registration, Market Infrastructure, and Technology (DRM) for guidance on regulatory compliance.
The CBEX saga has sparked renewed calls for tighter regulation of digital financial services and more public awareness about the dangers of unverified investment schemes.
