Founder of popular cryptocurrency exchange sued after users lost more than $200 million

Founder of popular cryptocurrency exchange sued after users lost more than 0 million
Founder of popular cryptocurrency exchange sued after users lost more than 0 million

The founder of Tokenize Xchange is facing a lawsuit over the loss of millions of dollars from users, The Business Times reported on November 28.

A total of 272 former clients of the crypto trading exchange are suing Hong Qi Yu, founder and CEO of AmazingTech, the parent company of Tokenize. The lawsuit also names chief operating officer Erin Koo Kee Hoon, who is Hong’s wife.

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According to a report filed by court-appointed interim receivers in September, AmazingTech owed users approximately $205.34 million, but its realizable assets were only approximately $2 million.

The lawsuit claims Hong and Koo have fraudulently appropriated the remaining $203.34 million.

The plaintiffs are now seeking $46.65 million in damages, an amount they claim they had on Tokenize Xchange on July 31, 2025 or when they attempted to withdraw their funds.

“The interim receivers’ report that AmazingTech appears to hold less than 1 per cent of clients’ total assets came as a profound shock to my clients,” Suresh Divyanathan, MD of Dauntless Law Chambers and lead lawyer handling the case, told the publication.

“They are outraged that virtually all of their assets in Tokenize Xchange have disappeared. Some of them have lost their life savings.”

The lawsuit claims Hong and Koo took several deceptive actions.

He said Tokenize Xchange did not facilitate trading through a central limit order book, but instead allegedly executed trades directly between itself and users.

It also said that the central limit order book displayed on Tokenize Xchange allegedly belonged to crypto exchange Binance, with a margin on the spread.

He alleged that the crypto exchange gave the false impression that it had a voluminous order book.

It also claims that Tokenize Xchange mixed company funds and user funds even though its contract promised to hold user funds separately in a trust.

Tokenize Xchange signage during the Singapore FinTech Festival in Singapore, Thursday, November 3, 2022.
Tokenize Xchange signage during the Singapore FinTech Festival in Singapore, Thursday, November 3, 2022.

The lawsuit, in particular, mentions an announcement the company made in July this year that it had obtained a license in Labuan and was in the “final phase” of obtaining a license in the Abu Dhabi global market.

But the interim receiver’s report mentions that the company did not complete the acquisition of the Labuan entity due to fraud allegations against Hong and that there was no progress on the Abu Dhabi plan beyond the preliminary stage.

Nichol Yeo and Clement Julien Tan of Nine Yards Chambers confirmed to The Business Times that they will represent Hong in the legal battle. A different team will reportedly represent Koo.

AmazingTech was incorporated in Singapore in 2016 and operated Tokenize Xchange under an exemption from the Payment Services Act 2019.

The exemption allowed the cryptocurrency exchange to operate while it awaited the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) assessment of its Major Payment Institution (MPI) license application.

When the MAS denied AmazingTech’s license application in July 2025, authorities asked the financial services company to stop offering payment services. The company was also required to return funds and cryptocurrencies owned by its customers.

Authorities reported in August 2025 that the Department of Business Affairs was investigating AmazingTech and its related entities. The company did not have sufficient funds to address user claims, authorities highlighted possible discrepancies in the separation of client funds.

In July 2025, authorities charged Hong with fraudulent trading under the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act. The High Court dissolved the company in September 2025.

This story was originally published by TheStreet on November 30, 2025, where it first appeared in the Business News section. Add TheStreet as a preferred source by clicking here.

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