Crypto ‘Queen’ Jailed 11 Years for £4.2B Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme
Chinese national Qian Zhimin, dubbed the ‘Crypto Queen’, was sentenced by a London court to 11 years in prison for orchestrating a £4.2 billion Bitcoin Ponzi scheme. From 2013, her company Lantian Gerui promised high returns from crypto mining and health-tech products. Prosecutors found the Bitcoin Ponzi scheme used new investors’ funds to pay earlier participants, defrauding 120,000 Chinese investors. Authorities seized tens of thousands of stolen BTC during a 2021 raid on her Hampstead mansion, marking the UK’s largest crypto haul. The case underscores a surge in crypto fraud: investors lost $2.47 billion to hacks and scams in H1 2025 alone. This ruling may affect market sentiment around regulatory enforcement and security risks in crypto trading.
Neutral
The sentencing of Qian Zhimin highlights ongoing crypto fraud risks but also demonstrates effective law enforcement. In the short term, traders may feel wary as the scale of the £4.2 billion Bitcoin Ponzi scheme underscores persistent security vulnerabilities. However, strong regulatory action can bolster long-term confidence by deterring bad actors and improving oversight. Past cases like the crackdown on FTX executives showed similar mixed effects: an initial drop in market sentiment followed by gradual recovery as compliance standards tightened. Overall, this judgment is likely to have a neutral impact, balancing immediate caution with longer-term trust gains.