AEX Founder Huang Tianwei Arrested After Platform Collapse; High Yield Promises Require New Funding Support
Huang Tianwei founded the Bit Era cryptocurrency trading platform in 2013, which was renamed AEX in 2017.
On July 14, 2022, AEX closed its withdrawal function due to liquidity issues. On July 17, the platform announced it would suspend services to cooperate with police investigations.
Huang Tianwei was subsequently investigated for related cases, affecting user assets on the platform, with reported amounts involved reaching tens of millions of dollars, with some estimates higher. Users faced jurisdictional issues in their rights protection efforts across regions.
In June 2025, Huang Tianwei was arrested at Bangkok's Don Mueang Airport for another cryptocurrency fraud case (involving about 200 million Thai Baht) but was later released on bail. The collapse of AEX was linked to a break in the funding chain of high-yield products.
The incident has triggered a liquidity crisis in centralized exchanges, leading to the freezing of user assets and accountability for founders. Beneficiaries include subsequent law enforcement and recovery actions, while the burden falls on platform users and related assets.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
Huang Tianwei, as an early founder of a Chinese cryptocurrency exchange, operated AEX for many years, with the platform known for trading altcoins. After the LUNA crash in 2022, liquidity dried up, leading to the closure of withdrawals, and the platform subsequently suspended all services under the guise of cooperating with investigations, leaving user funds unrecoverable.
In terms of capital flow, the platform attracted funds through high-yield products, and after the funding chain broke during the bear market, the founder went missing. The motive is seen as a typical Ponzi structure, using new funds to pay old returns, ultimately cutting off user withdrawals by suspending services. The subsequent fraud case in Thailand indicates continued operations using high-return bait.
Similar to the collapse cases of centralized exchanges like FTX, this reflects the exit model of early Chinese platforms; currently, it is in the phase of post-event accountability and cross-border arrests, highlighting the risks of centralized custody.
Essentially, this represents regulatory intervention after the failure of capital concentration. Once centralized platforms control user assets, a liquidity crisis can directly transform into a runaway event, as the mechanism lacks transparent reserves and independent custody, allowing founders to freeze all user funds instantly, forcing law enforcement to pursue recovery through cross-border cooperation.
ABAB News · Cognitive Laws
- Centralized custody ultimately places the risk on users.
- Liquidity crises are often precursors to runaways.
- High yield promises ultimately require new funding support.