JPEX collapse — what creditors were owed and recovered (2023)

JPEX was a virtual asset trading platform marketed heavily to Hong Kong retail investors through social media influencers and over-the-counter crypto shops. On 13 September 2023 the Securities and Futures Commission published a warning statement confirming that no entity in the JPEX group held or had applied for a Hong Kong platform licence, that JPEX's claims of overseas licensing were untrue, and that the regulator had received complaints from investors who could not withdraw virtual assets or found their balances altered. JPEX had been on the SFC's alert list since July 2022. The platform advertised yields of 19 to 21 percent on USDT, BTC and ETH. Within days it imposed prohibitive withdrawal fees, and customers were effectively locked out.

The only figure for what customers lost comes from the Hong Kong Police Force: more than 2,700 people reported losses totalling roughly HK$1.6 billion, about US$206 million. This is a police tally of complaints, not an audited claims register, and no insolvency proceeding has ever been opened against JPEX.

More than 80 people have been arrested. On 5 November 2025, over two years after the first arrests, 16 people were charged, including alleged core syndicate members, OTC shop operators and nominee account holders. The prosecution has not concluded and no defendant has been convicted.