The BETL saga began innocently enough, with the company presenting itself as a promising startup that promised regular payouts to Bulgarian investors seeking passive income. The premise seemed solid: BETL claimed to sell power bank devices, which would then rent out batteries for the Chinese market. Investors were eager to participate, with thousands pouring their savings into the venture. BETL even had a physical presence with up to 30 offices in Bulgaria and a seemingly transparent operation through public events, such as a major Christmas gala planned for December 21.
However, things took a dark turn when the company abruptly ceased paying out returns on December 6, citing technical issues. BETL representatives then asked investors for deposits of 99 USDT for account verification, promising to return said deposits. This never happened, and instead of receiving their money back, thousands of Bulgarian investors found themselves locked out of their savings.
Despite several media reports suggesting that BETL was a Ponzi scheme, many investors continued to send money to the project’s TRON address. Estimates suggest between 3,500 and 6,000 investors attempted to verify their profiles, with a total investor pool ranging from 8,000 to 30,000.
In total, investors put up to $80M into BETL, with early entrants withdrawing $50M. BETL used the remaining funds to finance a generous PR campaign and its office network. It retained $20M, including the last desperate transactions requesting 99 USDT for account verification.
Despite this debacle, BETL has not disappeared. The company appears to have rebranded itself as PowerPal, a similar scheme offering investment packages in return for a regular payout. This new venture is distributed through subscription links, offering various tiers of investment based on physical battery packs.
Analysis of BETL’s financials reveals that the company still holds some funds in identifiable wallets. Based on information from scammed investors, BETL holds a small slush fund of $226K from asking for verification fees. The original wallet advertised by BETL to Bulgarian investors holds another 415,599 TRON-based USDT.
This story serves as a cautionary tale for investors. As the saying goes, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Despite the initial promise of passive income, thousands of Bulgarian investors are now scrambling to recover their lost savings. This incident serves as a potent reminder of the risks inherent in investing, particularly in the often-murky world of cryptocurrency.