"Bitcoin Rodney" pleaded guilty: the largest crypto pyramid scheme HyperFund collapsed, taking $1.8 billion
Rodney Burton, a 56-year-old from Miami known in the crypto community as "Bitcoin Rodney," has officially pleaded guilty in federal court. He was a key link in the HyperFund fraudulent scheme, which defrauded investors worldwide of $1.8 billion between 2020 and 2022. This case is yet another loud wake-up call for the market, showing that even prominent names can be part of financial pyramids.
How HyperFund Worked: Promises of Mountains of Gold and Empty Mining
HyperFund positioned itself as an investment platform, promising passive income of 0.5% to 1% per day. Investors who purchased "memberships" were guaranteed a doubling or tripling of their initial deposit. To justify such generous payouts, the platform cited large-scale cryptocurrency mining. However, as the investigation revealed, no real mining operations existed. Money from new participants was used to pay old ones — a classic financial pyramid scheme. By 2021, the platform began blocking withdrawals, and thousands of people lost access to their savings.
The Role of "Bitcoin Rodney" and His Punishment
Burton was not the organizer of HyperFund but played a critical role. He admitted to conspiring to provide unlicensed money transfer services. Through shell consulting firms, he funneled investor funds, earning a commission in the process. Burton personally made at least $7.85 million from this scheme. He now faces up to five years in prison — the sentence will be handed down on July 23 by District Judge Richard Bennett.
The Scale of the Disaster: Crypto Fraud Hits Records
The HyperFund case is just the tip of the iceberg. According to a recent report from the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, losses from crypto fraud reached $11.4 billion in 2025. The agency received 181,565 complaints related to cryptocurrency — a 21% increase from the previous year. The average reported loss was $62,604. Investment scams accounted for $7.2 billion of these losses across 61,559 complaints.
My Comment: The guilty plea of "Bitcoin Rodney" is not just the end of one story. It is a signal for all market participants: even if a project looks solid and is promoted by well-known figures, bright promises may hide emptiness. Investors should remember: returns above market rates almost always mean either huge risk or impending fraud. Regulators are increasing pressure, but the best defense is your own caution.