Last Updated: December 5, 2025 | Word Count: ~4,300 | Reading Time: 17 minutes
Quick Facts
| Specification | Value |
| Project Name | LoopX |
| Token Symbol | LPX |
| Status | ❌ Exit Scam |
| Category | Trading Bot / Lending |
| ICO Rounds | 5 rounds, January 2018 |
| Amount Raised | ~$4.5 Million (276 BTC + 2,446 ETH) |
| Exit Scam Date | ~February 10-13, 2018 |
| Team Identity | Completely anonymous |
| Perpetrators Caught | Never |
| Funds Recovered | $0 |
| Promised Returns | 10%+ weekly (guaranteed) |
Table of Contents
- Executive Summary
- What Was LoopX?
- The Red Flags
- The ICO
- The Exit Scam
- Why They Were Never Caught
- Lessons Learned
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Sources & References
Executive Summary
In January 2018, at the height of crypto mania, a project called LoopX promised what every trader dreamed of: an AI-powered trading algorithm that could generate guaranteed weekly profits of 10% or more. Just deposit your Bitcoin or Ethereum, and the “LoopX Trading Algorithm” would do the rest.
It raised $4.5 million across five ICO rounds.
Then, in early February 2018—just as the promised lending platform was about to launch—everything disappeared. The website. The social media accounts. The YouTube channel. The Telegram. All gone overnight.
The LoopX team had never revealed their identities. No photos. No names. No LinkedIn profiles. No company registration. Investors had handed millions to complete strangers—and those strangers had vanished.
LoopX is a textbook Ponzi-style exit scam in the crypto era. The promise of “guaranteed returns” should have been an obvious red flag. The complete anonymity should have been disqualifying. But in the euphoria of early 2018, investors ignored the warnings.
No one behind LoopX has ever been identified or caught. The $4.5 million is gone forever.
What Was LoopX?
The Promise
LoopX marketed itself as having developed the “most advanced trading software” with:
- Proprietary AI algorithm capable of profitable trades
- Thousands of trades per second across multiple markets
- 10%+ weekly returns, often described as “guaranteed”
- Passive income: Just deposit and watch your money grow
- Proven track record: Claimed months of successful testing
The pitch was essentially: “Give us your crypto, our robot will trade it, you’ll get rich.”
The “LoopX Trading Algorithm”
According to marketing materials, the algorithm:
- Analyzed markets across multiple exchanges simultaneously
- Identified arbitrage and trend opportunities
- Executed trades faster than human traders
- Generated consistent profits in any market condition
No verifiable evidence of this algorithm’s existence was ever provided.
The “Team”
Here’s the most damning fact about LoopX: there was no team.
The website referenced vague descriptions of “high-performance professionals” but provided:
- No names
- No photographs
- No LinkedIn profiles
- No company registration
- No jurisdiction
- No contact information beyond a form
The whitepaper was similarly devoid of identifying information. Investors literally did not know who they were sending money to.
The Red Flags
LoopX displayed virtually every warning sign of a scam. Yet investors ignored them all.
1. Guaranteed Returns
The Claim: 10%+ returns per week, described as “guaranteed”
The Reality: No legitimate investment guarantees returns. In trading, especially crypto, losses are inevitable. Promising consistent weekly profits is the defining characteristic of a Ponzi scheme.
2. Anonymous Team
The Claim: Professional traders and developers
The Reality: Zero verifiable humans attached to the project. Not a single real name or face.
3. Too Good to Be True
The Math: 10% weekly = 14,000%+ annually. If this were real, the founders would be trillionaires within years. Why share it?
4. Vague Technology Claims
The Claim: “Most advanced trading algorithm”
The Reality: No technical documentation. No proof of concept. No verifiable track record. Just marketing language.
5. Pressure Tactics
Multiple ICO rounds with increasing prices created FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). “Buy now before the price increases!”
6. No Regulatory Compliance
No securities registration. No money transmitter license. No KYC on the project itself. Operating in a legal gray zone.
The ICO
Token Sale Structure
LoopX ran five consecutive ICO rounds in January 2018:
| Round | Price Increase | Result |
| Round 1 | Baseline | Sold out |
| Round 2 | Higher | Sold out |
| Round 3 | Higher | Sold out |
| Round 4 | Higher | Sold out |
| Round 5 | Highest | Sold out |
Each round selling out quickly created artificial urgency for subsequent rounds.
Total Raised
| Currency | Amount |
| Bitcoin | ~276 BTC |
| Ethereum | ~2,446 ETH |
| USD Value (Feb 2018) | ~$4.5 Million |
The Roadmap (Never Executed)
LoopX’s roadmap promised:
- Q1 2018: Lending platform launch
- Q2 2018: Trading platform public release
- 2018: Major exchange listings
The lending platform was scheduled to launch in early February. Instead, they vanished.
The Exit Scam
Timeline
Late January 2018
- Final ICO round completes
- Excitement for platform launch builds
- No warning signs apparent
February 10-11, 2018
- Website goes offline
- Social media accounts deleted
- YouTube channel removed
- Telegram channel emptied
February 12-13, 2018
- Community realizes what happened
- News articles begin appearing
- Panic as investors confirm total loss
The Disappearance
LoopX’s exit was comprehensive and coordinated:
| Platform | Status |
| Website (loopx.io) | Offline |
| Deleted | |
| Deleted | |
| YouTube | Channel removed |
| Telegram | Deleted |
| Medium | Deleted |
| Contact email | Unresponsive |
Every trace was systematically erased within hours.
What Investors Could Do
Nothing.
- No team to contact
- No company to sue
- No jurisdiction to file complaints
- No exchange had the funds (they were in LoopX’s wallets)
- No mechanism for recovery
Investors were left holding worthless LPX tokens and empty wallets where their BTC and ETH used to be.
Why They Were Never Caught
Complete Anonymity
Unlike many scams where founders eventually get caught, LoopX’s complete anonymity made investigation impossible:
- No starting point: Investigators need an identity to begin
- No company registration: Nothing to subpoena
- No physical location: Nowhere to investigate
- Cryptocurrency payments: Difficult to trace through mixers
Jurisdictional Challenges
Where was the crime committed?
- Investors: Worldwide
- Servers: Unknown
- Perpetrators: Unknown
- Company: Non-existent
No single law enforcement agency had clear jurisdiction.
Resource Allocation
While $4.5 million is significant to victims, it’s relatively small for major law enforcement operations:
- FBI focuses on larger cases
- Interpol requires member state requests
- Local police lack crypto expertise
Time and Crypto Mixing
By the time investigations could begin:
- Funds had been moved through multiple wallets
- Likely converted through privacy coins or mixers
- Traditional tracing methods ineffective
The Outcome
Years later, no perpetrators have been identified. LoopX remains an unsolved exit scam, with the operators presumably enjoying their $4.5 million somewhere in the world.
Lessons Learned
For Investors
1. “Guaranteed Returns” = Guaranteed Scam There is no legitimate investment with guaranteed returns. If someone promises them, they are lying.
2. Know Who You’re Investing With If you cannot verify real human identities behind a project, do not invest. Period.
3. If It’s Too Good to Be True… 10% weekly returns would be the greatest investment opportunity in history. It wasn’t—because it was fake.
4. FOMO Is Your Enemy Multiple “sold out” rounds creating urgency is a manipulation tactic, not a sign of legitimacy.
5. Crypto Doesn’t Protect You The blockchain records transactions, but it doesn’t prevent fraud or enable recovery.
For the Industry
1. Anonymous Projects Are Dangerous The industry eventually learned that legitimate projects need identifiable, accountable teams.
2. Platforms Need Standards ICO tracking sites and exchanges that listed LoopX could have (and should have) done basic due diligence.
3. Education Matters Investors need to understand basic financial red flags before entering crypto markets.
Historical Significance
LoopX is frequently cited alongside BitConnect as an example of crypto lending scams. The pattern is identical:
- Promise unrealistic returns
- Collect funds
- Disappear (or collapse)
The difference: BitConnect operated publicly for years; LoopX never bothered with the charade.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was LoopX?
LoopX was a cryptocurrency project that claimed to have developed an AI trading algorithm capable of generating 10%+ weekly returns. It raised approximately $4.5 million across five ICO rounds in January 2018 before vanishing in February 2018.
Was LoopX a scam?
Yes. LoopX was a clear exit scam. The project had an anonymous team, promised impossible returns, raised millions, and then disappeared with all funds. No product ever existed.
Who was behind LoopX?
Unknown. The team was completely anonymous—no names, no photos, no company registration. The perpetrators have never been identified.
How much money was stolen?
Approximately $4.5 million, comprising roughly 276 Bitcoin and 2,446 Ethereum at February 2018 prices.
Were the LoopX operators ever caught?
No. Despite the scale of the fraud, no one has ever been publicly identified, arrested, or prosecuted for LoopX. The case remains unsolved.
Did investors get any money back?
No. Zero recovery. The funds were taken by anonymous operators who have never been traced.
What happened to the LPX token?
The LPX token became worthless immediately upon the exit scam. It technically exists on the Ethereum blockchain but has no value or utility.
How can I avoid similar scams?
- Never invest with anonymous teams
- Never believe “guaranteed returns”
- If returns seem too good to be true, they are
- Verify everything independently
- Only invest what you can afford to lose
Sources & References
- The Next Web – “Cryptocurrency LoopX Scam ICO” – thenextweb.com
- Sophos News – “Cryptocurrency Startup LoopX Exit Scams with $4.5M” – news.sophos.com
- CryptoSlate – “New Crypto Startup LoopX Pulls Exit Scam” – cryptoslate.com
- Koinly – “ICO Scams” – koinly.io
- Slashdot – “LoopX Startup Pulls ICO Exit Scam” – slashdot.org
- Quadriga Initiative Case Study – “LoopX Exit Scam” – quadrigainitiative.com
Disclaimer
This article is for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. Cryptocurrency investments carry significant risk. Always conduct your own research (DYOR).
Article by: LAB Blockchain Summit Research Team Category: Exit Scams | Lending Scams Tags: loopx, LPX, exit scam, trading bot scam, ICO fraud, 2018