Kenya, April 16 -- The CBEX trading platform and cryptocurrency exchange platform went offline on or around April 9, leaving users unable to access their accounts or withdraw funds.

The sudden outage of the CBEX trading platform and mobile app has triggered widespread panic and fury among investors, many of whom fear significant financial losses.

According to sources, the CBEX trading platform was shut down abruptly, with over Sh1 billion from investors who are now gnashing their teeth.

What started as a great chance to earn quick money online has turned into a big loss for many people in Nigeria.

CBEX was a flashy crypto trading platform that promised to double anyone's money in just 30 days, but it has disappeared. Now, people are left with empty accounts and have lost over KSh KSh1.3 billion.

For months, CBEX attracted many users with its promises and a nice-looking website. But everything collapsed suddenly on a Monday. When users tried to log in, they found their accounts empty.

They couldn't take out any money. The Telegram groups that were once full of excitement became quiet. Just like that, CBEX was gone.

However, the exit was not quiet. As people started to panic, the platform tried a last trick: they asked users to pay a "verification fee" of $100 or $200 to have a chance to get their money back.

For many, this was a warning sign. This was not a real recovery plan but another attempt to take advantage of people's trust.

After the crash, CBEX asked people with balances below $1,000 to pay $100, while those with larger amounts were told to pay $200.

Analysts believe this was a planned move, not to help but to get more money from people who had already lost a lot.

Now, CBEX's disappearance is being called one of the biggest online scams in Nigeria.

Many victims, from traders to small business owners, are still in shock, having lost their life savings overnight. There are no names, no refunds, and no way to trace what happened.

The CBEX trading platform shutdown had to take investors to the offices and vandalise it.

In Ibadan, the situation escalated as enraged investors stormed CBEX's office in Oke-Ado.Frustration over inaccessible funds boiled over, leading to the looting of the company's premises.

Reports indicate that office equipment and other items were taken during the chaotic incident.

Local authorities have yet to release an official statement on the looting or the status of CBEX's operations.

The CBEX trading platform has not issued a public response, further fuelling speculation and distrust among users.

Investors are demanding answers as the outage or shutdown continues to disrupt their financial plans.

The incident has raised fresh concerns about the security and reliability of cryptocurrency platforms in Nigeria.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Bana Kenya.