Fake Crypto Platform Exposed: NanoBit Hit With $5.4 Million Penalty

TLDR

• A New York federal court entered a final judgment against NanoBit and its affiliates on June 16, 2026.
• The SEC says NanoBit ran a fake crypto trading platform that stole funds from at least 18 investors between 2023 and 2024.
• Defendants must pay a combined total of more than $5.4 million in fines, disgorgement, and interest.
• Operators allegedly posed as financial professionals in WhatsApp groups to lure victims.
• The case is part of a broader SEC crackdown on crypto fraud, even as the agency eases other crypto rules.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has won a final judgment in its fraud case against NanoBit Limited. The judgment closes out a case that began nearly two years ago.

The US District Court for the Eastern District of New York entered the judgment on June 16, 2026. The SEC announced the win publicly on Monday.

The agency first sued NanoBit in September 2024. It accused the company of running a fake crypto trading platform designed to steal money from everyday investors.

How the Scheme Worked

According to the SEC, NanoBit’s operators found victims through social media platforms like Instagram. They then moved conversations into WhatsApp groups.

Inside these groups, scheme participants allegedly pretended to be financial professionals. They convinced investors to deposit money onto NanoBit’s platform.

The SEC says the platform itself was fake. Investors saw a dashboard showing their money growing, but no real trading ever happened.

NanoBit also claimed its affiliate, NanobitUS Securities, was registered with the SEC as a broker. The SEC says this was false.

The scheme also promoted fake initial coin offerings, promising big returns to investors who bought in.

When investors tried to withdraw their money, the SEC says they were given excuses or asked to pay large fees. Some investors who questioned the platform were removed from the WhatsApp groups entirely.

The SEC alleges that more than $2 million was wired to bank accounts in Hong Kong. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in crypto assets were also misappropriated, according to the agency.

The Penalties

The court ordered NanoBit to pay a $1.18 million fine. It also must pay disgorgement of more than $532,000 and prejudgment interest of nearly $81,200.

That brings NanoBit’s total to almost $1.8 million.

Three NanoBit affiliates were named in the case: Radiant Horizons, Sweet Karma, and Zhao Deli. Each was ordered to pay a $1.18 million fine.

Jiajie Liu, described as one of the scheme’s main organizers, was ordered to pay about $120,000 in penalties, disgorgement, and interest.

The court also issued permanent injunctions against all defendants. These injunctions bar them from issuing, buying, or selling securities going forward.

In total, the judgments across all defendants add up to more than $5.4 million.

This case fits a pattern of recent SEC enforcement actions against crypto fraud. In May, the agency charged a Texas man accused of raising more than $12 million from about 150 investors using false claims about AI trading bots.

In April, the SEC charged crypto executive Donald Basile and two of his companies. The agency alleged they raised roughly $16 million from investors through false claims tied to a token called Bitcoin Latinum.

These actions continue even as the SEC has taken a lighter regulatory approach to crypto companies overall under the current administration. The agency has also revised what it considers a securities offering in recent months.

The NanoBit judgment marks one of the larger penalties handed down in a crypto fraud case so far this year.

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