Giza Device, a cryptocurrency startup, has vanished following what authorities and investors believe to be a coordinated fraud scheme involving a phony initial coin offering. The company collected rou
Giza Device, a cryptocurrency startup, has vanished following what authorities and investors believe to be a coordinated fraud scheme involving a phony initial coin offering. The company collected roughly US$2 million in digital assets from more than 1,000 participants under the guise of developing an ultra-secure cryptocurrency storage apparatus. The perpetrators constructed a fabricated online identity through a spoofed LinkedIn account and images lifted from Instagram profiles.
The token offering commenced in January, with activity through February accumulating 2,100 ether—equating to approximately US$2.4 million in value at that point. Some backers reported ether contributions in the vicinity of US$10,000, while others disclosed stakes around US$5,000. What initially appeared legitimate soon unraveled as numerous problems emerged: disagreements with a key manufacturing partner, extended silence from purported leadership, and the inability to recover invested capital. The organization's online hub has been deleted, and its social media presence @GizaDevice has shown no activity since late January.
A critical breaking point arrived when Giza's manufacturing collaborator went public with grievances. The company had engaged Russian outfit Third Pin LLC in December 2017 to handle production of the hardware wallets. That partnership deteriorated when Ivan Ioan Larionov, heading Third Pin, disclosed via BitcoinTalk that his firm dissolved the relationship in late January 2018 because Giza failed to remit payment for work commenced. In a post from January 30, Larionov articulated: "[On January 26], we had to start development, but our contract had not been paid yet," adding, "With a heavy heart, I am forced to tell that we are [freezing] all the activities related to the 'Giza device' project."
One investor, identifying himself as Chris but requesting anonymity, described to CNBC how perception shifted dramatically. "Everything was fine, until that company that was meant to develop their device came out on the Internet and said that Giza has cut ties, and it seems to be a scam and they might not be developing anything. Then things started looking fishy," Chris explained.
Giza's holdings subsequently transferred out of the company's wallets over approximately two weeks, routing toward other blockchain addresses. Insiders theorize the operation may have originated with genuine purpose before deteriorating into outright theft. Aleksander Rajic, who appeared as a programmer on the company's roster, indicated his unknown superior went silent in January without explanation. Rajic commented: "When they stopped responding to my Skype and LinkedIn messages, I suspected it is a scam."
This case echoes a remarkably similar situation involving LoopX, which promised backers "the most advanced trading-algorithm in the cryptocurrency market" before absconding with substantial investor funds. The venture accumulated 276.21 BTC and 2,446.70 ETH through its token sales, representing an officially stated value of US$4.5 million, yet insiders assert investors committed significantly more than US$10 million combined.
