On September 9, 2025, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) added BitPay Mining to its Investor Alert List, flagging it for offering unlicensed financial services to Australian consumers, per. The warning targets BitPay Mining’s website at bit185.3wbt.com, privately registered and updated on September 27, 2025, for promoting DeFi staking without an Australian Financial Services License (AFSL) or authorization, per. ASIC states that such unregistered offerings constitute securities fraud under Australian law, per.
BitPay Mining operates as a “click a button” app Ponzi scheme, run by Chinese scammers, promising easy profits through crypto mining and staking, per. Users are lured with high-yield claims, but the platform lacks transparency, with no verifiable operations or licensed entities, per. ASIC’s alert follows similar warnings for platforms like MEXC and Cryptex, highlighting a rise in unregulated crypto schemes targeting Australians, per. The domain’s recent update suggests ongoing activity despite scrutiny, per.
As of July 2025, BitPay Mining’s website drew 307,000 monthly visits, primarily from the U.S. (31%), Germany (12%), Cote d’Ivoire (12%), Switzerland (11%), and Hungary (6%), per SimilarWeb. Recruitment has shifted from Australia and France, where interest collapsed, to Cote d’Ivoire and Hungary, indicating a pivot to less-regulated markets, per. This mirrors tactics in MLM Ponzi schemes like GSPartners ($1B losses) and Cryptex, per.
BitPay Mining’s unlicensed status exposes users to fund loss and fraud, with ASIC advising against engagement, per. Investors should verify platforms via ASIC’s Moneysmart tool at moneysmart.gov.au and report scams to ASIC at asic.gov.au, per. Bitcoin (BTC) ($113,234) and Ethereum (ETH) ($4,070) remain stable, per CoinMarketCap, but Ponzi alerts could erode DeFi trust. Diversify into USDC or ETH with stop-losses below BTC’s $112,000, per TradingView. Follow @TheBlock__ on X for regulatory updates.
