Mysterious Celebrity Memcoin Scam Factory, Hong Kong Company Dumps Bitcoin: Asia Express

Shenzhen celebrity memecoin factory rumored

A mysterious memecoin factory in Shenzhen is rumored to be behind a wave of memecoin scams, allegedly releasing more than a dozen tokens per month. Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho Gaucho has sparked controversy on Chinese social media.

On March 3, Ronaldinho announced the launch of his memecoin on the BNB chain. Within hours, it rose to a peak market cap of $30 million, but collapsed to about $3.7 million, according to CoinGecko data.

User @R10coin_claimed to have struck a $6 million deal with Ronaldinho to promote their icon, paying him $3 million upfront. However, an X user then claimed that Ronaldinho had signed another token deal and that the footballer’s X account had been sold to a Shenzhen-based company.

The unnamed Shenzhen company is rumored to be operating like a massive scam, aggressively marketing celebrity-backed tokens to lure investors, pump up the price, and then cash out before they disappear. Although these unverified accusations are pure speculation, they have ignited discussions across Chinese cryptocurrency communities about the existence of regulated memcoin factories designed solely to attract unsuspecting investors.

A legal expert from Man Kun Law Firm commented on this matter through A WeChat post on March 4. The lawyer stated that if such “token factories” actually existed, they would constitute an outright fraud and a typical example of rug pulling. According to the lawyer, the marketing is based entirely on deception – using famous names to generate hype, playing on people’s fantasies of overnight wealth, and ultimately profiting from artificial price manipulation rather than developing a real blockchain project.

Despite all these claims, the project itself has not been abandoned, although its value has mostly evaporated. On March 6, Ronaldinho’s Meme Coin announced that the token would be… Expansion of the Solana blockchainand is doubling down on its future plans rather than distancing itself from the token. Meanwhile, the X account that raised the accusations against Ronaldinho and the supposed Shenzhen manufacturer, @R10coin_, has been banned from the platform for violating the site’s policies.

Not all Hong Kong-listed bitcoin buyers are sticklers

Another Hong Kong-listed company has bought Bitcoin – but don’t get too excited. Yuxing Infotech Investment Holdings (HKEX: 8005) quietly raised millions of bitcoin in the second half of 2024, only to start selling months later.

According to According to disclosures filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Yuxing purchased 78.2 bitcoins between July 25, 2024 and December 31, 2024, at an average price of $80,960 per bitcoin, amounting to a total of $6.3 million. But by early 2025, the company had done just that She has already started reducing her holdings. From January 22 to March 5, Yuxing sold 50 bitcoins at an average price of $89,194 per coin, generating $4.5 million. The company also offloaded 3.3 million USDT for $3.3 million.

Yuxing has not defined a long-term strategy regarding Bitcoin. While the company committed capital into Bitcoin in 2024, it chose to reduce its holdings within months, suggesting it may view Bitcoin as a short-term investment rather than a treasury asset. Sales of $89,194 per bitcoin suggest Yuxing may have made a profit, though the company did not provide details.

Yuxing is not an anomaly among Asian companies. In December 2024, Chinese selfie app Meitu liquidated its entire Bitcoin and Ethereum holdings, taking a profit of nearly $80 million after three years of accumulation.

Meitu was once called the “MicroStrategy of Asia”, being one of the first companies to adopt the aggressive Bitcoin accumulation strategy popularized by Strategy and its CEO Michael Saylor. That title has since passed to Japanese investment firm Metaplanet, which is now approaching Hong Kong-listed Boyaa Interactive, the largest public bitcoin holder in Asia with 3,183 BTC.

On March 5, 2025, Metaplanet increased its holdings to 2,888 BTC After purchasing another 497 Bitcoin.

Telegram is in Singapore’s crosshairs as crypto and AI crimes surge

Singapore is raising concerns about Telegram’s role in scams, with State Minister for Home Affairs Sun Xueling warning that the messaging platform’s focus on user anonymity has made it attractive for scams and other criminal activity. Authorities are closely monitoring the platform after the number of scams linked to Telegram nearly doubled in 2024.

“One platform we are particularly concerned about is Telegram, which has long prioritized, and even prides itself on, the anonymity it provides to its users. This anonymity is being exploited by scammers and other criminals,” He said In a speech on March 4.

Fraud tactics are also evolving. With tight security measures in place for banking transactions, fraudsters have increasingly turned to cryptocurrencies, as funds are difficult to trace and recover. Cryptocurrency-related scams accounted for nearly a quarter of all fraud losses in Singapore in 2024, up from less than 10% the previous year. The largest single scam this year — worth a total of $125 million — was a malware attack on the victim’s cryptocurrency wallet. While Singapore has licensed some digital payment token service providers, Sun noted that many forex exchanges and wallet providers remain unregulated and out of the reach of local law enforcement.

Authorities are also warning of the rise of AI-driven scams, which have made fraud more difficult to detect.

“Gone are the days when we could easily spot a fraudulent call or email, through heavy foreign accents or bad English. Today, fraudsters use artificial intelligence and our online information, among other capabilities, to make themselves more believable and easily evade detection,” Sun said.

Scammers are now using AI-generated voices and information from social media to create more convincing scams. Singapore has responded by deploying AI-powered fraud detection tools, such as fraud analytics and a tactical intervention system, to more efficiently identify and disable fraudulent websites and accounts.

The government is assessing whether further measures are needed to tackle scams on Telegram. Son said authorities would explore additional measures and may consider “legislative tools” if necessary. The government has already worked with platforms such as Meta and Carousel, which have introduced enhanced identity verification measures that have led to a significant reduction in e-commerce fraud.

Japan is preparing for stablecoins

SBI VC Trade is poised to become the first Japanese financial platform to offer USDC stablecoin transactions, after completing initial regulatory registration, as Japan gradually softens its stance towards stablecoins.

On March 4, SBI VC Trade announced it was doing so You have completed the initial stage of registration for stablecoin tradingand received approval from the Tokyo Office of the Kanto Regional Financial Office. This registration allows SBI VC Trade to begin offering USDC transactions to select users from March 12, with plans for wider general availability shortly thereafter.

The move comes in the wake of Japan’s recent easing of stablecoin regulations. In 2023, Japan reportedly lifted a ban that restricted stablecoins issued abroad. In February 2025, Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) approved the recommendations of a working group to further ease regulations on the use of stablecoins, signaling the government’s growing support for stablecoins as tools for financial innovation and efficient transactions.

SBI VC Trade, a subsidiary of financial giant SBI Holdings, has a long-standing presence in the cryptocurrency market, particularly through its collaborations with companies like Ripple.

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Johan Yuen

Johan (Hysop) Yuen is a Cointelegraph staff writer and multimedia journalist who has been covering blockchain-related topics since 2017. His background includes roles as an assignment editor and producer at Forecast, as well as technology and policy-focused reporting positions at Forbes and Bloomberg BNA. He has a degree in journalism and owns Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana in amounts that exceed Cointelegraph’s disclosure threshold of $1,000.