On January 29, 2026, Russia’s Central Bank (CBR) issued a securities fraud warning against Tag Markets, citing “signs of an illegal professional participant in the securities market,” per CBR’s official alert. The warning targets Tag Markets’ unlicensed operations, including DeFi staking and crypto services offered via domains like cryptex-vip.com and cryptex.to, per. This marks the second major regulatory action against Tag Markets, following BaFin’s July 2025 warning. The CBR emphasizes that entities offering securities or crypto-asset services in Russia require authorization, which Tag Markets lacks.
Tag Markets operates as an MLM crypto Ponzi factory, with ties to Dubai and Colombia, per. Promoted by Jared Esguerra as owner and Kevin Marin as CEO and co-founder, the scheme funnels victims through linked frauds like Zeus Funding and Exfusion, per. Exfusion, involving serial scammers Asker Sakinmaz and Michael Baur, was explicitly cited in the CBR warning. Tag Markets also recruited Crowd1 Ponzi victims in October 2025, per. These reboots mirror patterns in Forsage ($340M losses) and Generation Zoe.
As of December 2025, Tag Markets recorded 149,000 monthly visits, primarily from Germany (74%), the U.S. (7%), and Switzerland (4%), per SimilarWeb. The shift from earlier Australia and France recruitment indicates targeting new regions like Cote d’Ivoire and Hungary. This aggressive expansion, despite warnings from Austria (April 2025) and Germany, highlights Tag Markets’ persistence in unregulated markets, per. The CBR’s action could disrupt European operations.
The CBR warning reinforces global efforts against MLM crypto fraud, following BaFin and OSC alerts, per. Investors should avoid Tag Markets and verify platforms via cbr.ru or bafin.de, per. Bitcoin (BTC) ($113,234) and Ethereum (ETH) ($4,070) remain stable, per CoinMarketCap, but Ponzi schemes erode trust. Diversify into USDC or ETH with stop-losses below BTC’s $112,000, per TradingView. Follow @TheBlock__ on X for updates. Tag Markets’ collapse could mirror GSPartners ($1B+ losses), urging caution in 2026.
