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SEC Wins $5.5 Million Judgment Against Fake Crypto Platform NanoBit

The case fits into the SEC's broader push against relationship-investment scams, where fake platforms build trust through social media and chat apps. NanoBit was also wrongly linked to an SEC-registered broker.

By Mike Hesp
• 2 min read
SEC Wins $5.5 Million Judgment Against Fake Crypto Platform NanoBit

Key Takeaways

  • The SEC won a $5.5 million default judgment against NanoBit and five other parties behind an alleged fake crypto platform.
  • NanoBit Limited has to pay most of it, while the court also imposed permanent bans on fraudulent securities activity.
  • The case fits into SEC enforcement against relationship-investment scams that build trust through social media and chat apps before the money disappears.

The SEC has secured a $5.5 million (€4.8 million) default judgment against NanoBit and five other parties tied to an alleged fake crypto platform. The judge found that the defendants knowingly failed to appear and did not present any valid defense. That outcome adds more weight to the regulator's wider effort to crack down on crypto fraud schemes that use social media and chat apps to win people over first.

Fines and Bans

NanoBit Limited will pay the largest share of the penalty: more than $532,000 (€466,400) in disgorgement, nearly $82,000 (€71,900) in interest, and another $1.1 million (€1 million) civil penalty. The three other entities named in the case each received a $1.1 million (€1 million) penalty. Jiajie Liu must pay $120,000 (€105,200), while Hua Zhao must pay $55,000 (€48,200). Under the ruling, all of those amounts are due within 30 days.

The court also entered a permanent injunction. All six defendants are now barred from violating federal anti-fraud laws or participating in securities offerings or transactions. Liu and Zhao are still permitted to trade in their personal accounts.

How the Case Started

The SEC first filed the complaint in September 2024, alongside a separate case against another fake crypto platform, CoinW6. In both matters, the regulator said it was pursuing some of its early enforcement actions against so-called relationship-investment scams, where trust is built first and the money is taken later. The complaint also said NanoBit claimed to be connected to NanobitUS Securities, which was falsely described in the fraud scheme as an SEC-registered broker.

The case is a reminder of how fast these operations can go from looking like ordinary crypto activity to straight-up investment fraud. For European crypto investors, that matters because the playbook is often the same across markets: direct outreach, a fake layer of legitimacy, and money being steered away from real trading.

Why It Matters for Crypto Investors

The SEC said its investigation into NanoBit was handled by the New York Regional Office. That underscores how closely the regulator continues to monitor crypto fraud, even when the activity is packaged to look like a normal trading service. For readers in Europe, the main point is that these schemes often cross borders and do not depend on any single exchange or jurisdiction.

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