I had always been interested in passive income, and with the rise of crypto lending platforms, I saw an opportunity to make my money work for me. One day, while browsing a cryptocurrency forum, I came across a post about CoinTrust Lending, a new platform promising guaranteed monthly returns of 12-18% for those who deposited their Bitcoin or Ethereum. The company claimed to use a proprietary AI-driven trading system that generated profits by lending crypto to institutional borrowers and retail traders. The website looked incredibly professional, featuring in-depth financial reports, investor testimonials, and a detailed whitepaper explaining their lending model.

The real selling point was their special launch offer—new investors would receive an additional 5% bonus on their first deposit. It seemed like a golden opportunity, and after seeing several glowing reviews from users in the forum who had already received payouts, I decided to give it a try. I started with a $5,000 deposit in Bitcoin, just to test the waters. Over the next few weeks, I was thrilled to see my dashboard balance growing, showing accrued interest every day.

After a month, I was able to successfully withdraw my profits, which further built my trust in the platform. Seeing the money come into my wallet, I became more confident, so I increased my investment to $20,000. Encouraged by this, I even convinced two of my friends to invest as well. For the next two months, everything seemed perfect. I received consistent interest payments, and my dashboard showed that my investment had grown significantly.

Then, without warning, the withdrawals stopped. At first, the platform issued a notice stating that they were experiencing temporary liquidity issues due to “unexpected market volatility.” They reassured investors that everything was under control and that withdrawals would resume within two weeks. However, as time passed, the excuses kept piling up. They claimed that a cybersecurity breach had forced them to freeze accounts for security reasons. Then, they announced a new KYC (Know Your Customer) process, requiring investors to verify their identity by depositing an additional 10% of their holdings.

By now, I knew something was wrong. The Telegram group, which was once filled with active discussions and investor enthusiasm, had turned into chaos, with hundreds of people demanding their money back. Then, suddenly, the website went offline, and the administrators disappeared. CoinTrust Lending had vanished overnight, and with it, millions of dollars in investor funds.

Only after deep research did I realize that I had fallen into a classic Ponzi scheme. The early payouts I had received were simply funded by newer investors, and once the platform had collected enough, they shut everything down. I lost my entire investment, and my friends who I convinced to join also lost their money.