UK shuts down crypto firm after global complaints

A UK-registered cryptoasset firm, BTCMining Limited, has been shut down following an investigation into global complaints of fraud and financial misconduct.

According to report, customers from around the world reported they paid the company for crypto mining services but received neither the promised returns nor access to their funds.

The United Kingdom government, in a statement on Wednesday, said BTCMining Limited claimed to offer cryptocurrency mining services in which clients paid for mining contracts and expected to earn income in return.

However, Action Fraud received complaints from victims in Estonia, Mauritania, Iran, New Zealand, Poland, and Romania, alleging that they never received any mining services and were subjected to repeated demands for additional payments.

According to the statement, further investigation revealed that BTCMining Limited had no legitimate registered address in the UK.

“Websites associated with the company were inactive or failed to provide valid contact information. Attempts to reach the firm through known emails and phone numbers were unsuccessful.”

The company was officially shut down by the High Court in Manchester on 28 April 2025, after the UK Insolvency Service presented its findings.

“The fact that BTCMining Limited was attracting customers globally makes our intervention particularly important,” said David Usher, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service.

“We acted on the complaints before their reach could have affected countless more individuals. It’s vital that the public, both here in the UK and abroad, are protected from companies acting in this way.”

The sole director of BTCMining Limited, Stibich Martins Yhaicha Luzia, a 25-year-old believed to be from Germany, did not cooperate with the investigation. The company was incorporated in January 2024, with its registration fee paid from an account based in China.

“Records at Companies House listed a residential address as the company’s contact location. The current residents denied any affiliation with BTCMining Limited and said they had not authorized the use of their address.”

“While six official complaints were filed with Action Fraud, amounting to losses of over £15,000, investigators suspect the actual number of victims and total losses could be significantly higher.

Authorities emphasised that BTCMining Limited is not connected to any other business with a similar name or trading style.