[1][5] On January 3, 2018, Texas State Securities Board issued a cease and desist to the company, calling it a Ponzi scheme, and citing failings in user earnings transparency, and misleading statements.
[9] It is suspected that Darji is connected to well-known criminal entities involved in laundering so-called "Black Money" after the Indian government's demonetization of the rupee.
[10] Bitconnect was suspected of being a Ponzi scheme[11] because of its multilevel marketing structure and impossibly high payouts (1% daily compounded interest).
The Bitconnect Coin was among the world's top 20 most successful cryptocurrency tokens[13] until its price collapsed after traders began losing confidence.
[7][14][15] On January 16, 2018, Bitconnect announced it would shut down its cryptocurrency exchange and lending operation after regulators from Texas and North Carolina issued a cease and desist order against it.
[25] On January 12, 2023, a federal district court in San Diego ordered that Arcaro pay $17 million in restitution to be distributed to approximately 800 victims.
During the event, an investor named Carlos Matos from New York City gave an exuberant presentation and testimonial about the website, which included him intensely screaming "Bitconnect!"