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Thai Police Arrest Chinese Suspect in $6.1 Million Bitcoin Fraud Case

by admin



In brief

  • Thai police arrested Chinese national Tianwei at Don Mueang Airport on June 12 for allegedly stealing $6.15 million in Bitcoin.
  • The arrest followed an April complaint and a May 16 warrant after Tianwei vanished from a business deal in Chiang Rai.
  • It’s the latest in a series of Asian crypto fraud busts, including major cases in Vietnam and India.

Thai immigration police arrested a Chinese fugitive at Don Mueang Airport Thursday morning as he attempted to flee to Singapore, ending a manhunt connected to millions in stolen Bitcoin.

The man, Tianwei, was arrested at 6 a.m. local time (7 p.m. ET) on Thursday at the international departure terminal as he attempted to board Lion Air flight SL100, according to a report by local news outlet Khaosod English.

The airport intercept ended a month-long manhunt that began when two Chinese victims reported losing $6.15 million (200 million baht) in Bitcoin to the suspect after a business meeting in Mae Sai district.

Chiang Rai Provincial Court issued the arrest warrant on May 16. Intelligence reports indicated Tianwei would attempt to flee the country, prompting authorities to alert Don Mueang immigration officers.

The suspect reportedly communicated in English during his arrest. Sergeant Suwaphan Utsaha, commander of the Don Mueang Immigration checkpoint, served as an interpreter to inform him of his rights and the charges against him. 

Tianwei confirmed his identity and told officers he had never been arrested in this case before.



Thailand’s notoriously tough stance on foreign fraud suspects means Tianwei faces a grim future, according to Archer Wolfe, founder of the crypto consultancy firm MohrWolfe and a former resident of Thailand.

“It’s no surprise that Thai immigration continues cracking down on fraud amongst foreigners—they’re famous for their hardcore measures,” Wolfe told Decrypt. “However, once they’re suspicious of you, and you get caught, they will dissect your entire life, starting with your smartphone and every conversation you have in it.”

Wolfe predicted harsh consequences, saying that the suspect “is going to be extradited back to China” and “the Thai government is then going to keep that Bitcoin unless an exorbitant fee is paid and simply close the book.”

Crypto crackdown in Asia

The arrest comes amid a regional crackdown on crypto fraud that has netted hundreds of millions in seized assets across Asia.

India’s Central Bureau of Investigation arrested Delhi resident Rahul Arora on Tuesday and seized over $327,000 in crypto from a cybercrime operation targeting U.S. and Canadian victims through caller ID spoofing and social engineering.

Last month, Vietnamese authorities dismantled the Matrix Chain pyramid scheme after a 200-day investigation, arresting five suspects accused of defrauding 185,000 victims out of nearly $400 million.

In February, Thai and Chinese police teamed up to arrest two Chinese nationals and seize $2.5 million worth of Tether’s USDT stablecoin from a large-scale scam operation.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair

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Crypto Trends

Thai Banks May Soon Hold Crypto; UNI Rises as Whales Return

by admin



Good Morning, Asia. Here’s what’s making news in the markets:

Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of top stories during U.S. hours and an overview of market moves and analysis. For a detailed overview of U.S. markets, see CoinDesk’s Crypto Daybook Americas.

Uniswap’s UNI token surged from $6.00 to $6.65 over the past 24 hours, pushing the token up 5%, while the broader market gauge CoinDesk20 Index fell 1.8% in the last 24 hours. This momentum coincides with Uniswap recording its highest monthly transaction volume since February, processing over $73 billion in trades and generating more than $380 million in revenue this year, as institutional interest grows and a notable whale re-entered the market by acquiring nearly $4 million worth of UNI.

SCB10X’s New CEO Sees US-Asia Crypto Dealflow, AI Opportunities

Kaweewut Temphuwapat, the new CEO of SCB10X, the venture arm of Thailand’s SCB bank, sees significant opportunities emerging at the intersection of AI, crypto, and Web3. “We definitely [are] going more on AI and also crypto and AI plus crypto,” Temphuwapat told CoinDesk, highlighting these hybrid investments as firmly “under our radar.”

He predicts clearer crypto regulation in the U.S. will fuel increased deal flow into resilient Asian markets, noting SCB10X’s early success investing in Ripple: “We are an early investor in Ripple of 10 years ago… we’ve used that technology for the last five to six years in our SCB App.”

Temphuwapat praised Thailand’s proactive and innovative regulators, highlighting the country’s robust payments infrastructure. He expects Thai banks, including SCB, could soon directly hold crypto tokens on their balance sheets, initially through regulatory sandboxes: “The intention is there… they allow us to do [it] in a small scale.”

Trader James Wynn Shifts From Billion-Dollar Bitcoin Bets to Memecoins, Goes Long Pepe

Pseudonymous trader “James Wynn,” known for high-stakes crypto bets on decentralized platform Hyperliquid, has shifted focus from billion-dollar bitcoin positions to memecoins, recently placing a leveraged $1 million bet on Pepe (PEPE), CoinDesk reported earlier.

Previously, Wynn closed a massive $1.2 billion bitcoin long position at a $17.5 million loss, before pivoting to a $1 billion short position at 40x leverage, effectively wagering their entire $50 million wallet balance on bitcoin’s downside. That short briefly netted Wynn about $3 million in profit before closing, marking one of the largest trades ever executed fully on-chain.

Wynn announced stepping back from perpetual trading after securing a cumulative profit of $25 million, earned from an initial investment of just over $3 million. The trader’s latest high-leverage PEPE position has already gained $500,000 amid a nearly 6% rise in the memecoin’s value.

Strategy Buys Another 4,020 Bitcoin for $427M, Total Holdings Surpass 580K BTC

Strategy (MSTR), the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, purchased an additional 4,020 BTC between May 19 and May 25 for roughly $427 million, bringing its total holdings to 580,250 BTC, CoinDesk previously reported. The acquisition was funded through three separate at-the-market equity programs, including sales of common and preferred stock totaling approximately $427 million.

These latest bitcoin purchases were executed at an average price of $106,237 per coin, pushing Strategy’s total investment in bitcoin to over $40.6 billion, at an average cost basis of $69,979 per coin. The acquisitions reflect the company’s ongoing commitment to expanding its sizable bitcoin holdings through regular capital raises and share issuances.

Market Movements:

  • BTC: Bitcoin holds steady near record levels around $109,000, consolidating gains despite tariff-induced volatility, as long-term investors continue accumulating amid macroeconomic uncertainty.
  • ETH: Ethereum maintains resilience above $2,500 amid volatility and cautious whale behavior, supported by continued institutional inflows into spot ETH ETFs.
  • Gold: Gold dips slightly on tariff delay but stays above $3,310 as deficit concerns fuel bullish outlook.
  • Hang Seng: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng opened lower, trading above 23,304, led by tech losses, including Meituan’s 4.9% decline.
  • Nikkei: Japan’s Nikkei 225 dipped 0.13% Tuesday morning as markets assessed Trump’s tariff delay.
  • S&P 500: Closed for Memorial Day.

Elsewhere in Crypto…



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