A London High Court has ordered the closure of Key Coin Assets Ltd, an unauthorized cryptocurrency investment firm, after investigators found that nine investors who reported the scheme to Action Fraud had collectively handed over more than £300,000. The winding-up order was granted by the Insolvency Service on 11 August 2026 after no evidence emerged that the company had carried out any genuine trading activity.
The firm had marketed itself as a cryptocurrency investment vehicle offering guaranteed returns of between 40 percent and 100 percent, with one advertisement promoting the scheme under the slogan “0 Fees, 0 Risks.” Investors were told their money would be placed into crypto trading, but investigators concluded that none of the promised activity occurred.
The Insolvency Service said the operation displayed classic features of a Ponzi-style arrangement: money received from newer participants appeared to have been used to pay earlier ones. Bank records showed deposits were often transferred into the company director’s personal account on the same day they arrived, after which the funds became difficult to trace.
Further irregularities included repeated changes to the company’s registered address, with one address listed as a residential flat whose occupants said they had never heard of the business. Filings submitted to Companies House claimed the firm held assets worth as much as £42 million, a figure that bore little resemblance to its actual banking activity. The company also failed to produce complete accounting records and is understood to have used customer testimonials without permission.
Mark George, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said the firm had promised guaranteed returns but delivered nothing, and its conduct exhibited all the hallmarks of a Ponzi-style scheme. The Official Receiver has been appointed as liquidator. Both the Insolvency Service and the Financial Conduct Authority are urging the public to exercise caution, verify that firms are properly authorized before transferring funds, and remain highly skeptical of offers guaranteeing high returns with no apparent risk.
