From the Bali murder case to the "dark truth" of the crypto world: a tangled web of wealth and crime

When it comes to the crypto world, the first word that often comes to people’s minds is “get rich quickly.” But how many hidden conspiracies and bloodshed are behind this industry promising overnight returns of thousands of times?

A sensational news story from the first half of the year might give you the answer. In the Bali murder case, a young Chinese couple mysteriously died while on vacation, and the motive pointed to—the crypto industry.

Why does the crypto industry easily trigger tragedies?

Talking about making money in crypto, it seems simple and straightforward: trading coins, mining, contract trading. But in reality, the entire ecosystem is divided into two levels: the primary market and the secondary market.

Primary market is the fundraising stage before tokens are listed on exchanges, where projects conduct public or private offerings to investors. If you catch a good project, the returns can easily reach hundreds or even thousands of times. It sounds much more exciting than the stock market.

Secondary market is the stage where tokens are traded freely after being listed. But there is a fatal problem—no domestic crypto trading platform has legal status, and all transactions are conducted overseas, with Southeast Asia becoming a major disaster zone.

In this regulatory vacuum, a strange phenomenon has emerged: many crypto bigwigs promising “private placement opportunities” and “get rich overnight” are actually connected to underground financial organizations in countless ways.

The leek and the harvester: the essence of the crypto game

The crypto industry claims to offer unlimited opportunities, but statistics cruelly reveal reality: apart from a few lucky ones, 99% of investors ultimately become the “leeks” being harvested.

Where does their money go? The vast majority flows into the pockets of primary market manipulators. Many of these individuals are closely linked to gambling groups in Southeast Asia.

This explains why the male victim in the Bali case, Li, owned multiple luxury cars and frequented five-star hotels in Cambodia before his death. According to netizens’ digging, he was an agent of the crypto and gambling groups, accumulating wealth through “rigging schemes to harvest leeks.” But when he decided to “run away with the money,” he angered the forces behind him.

Similar tragedies are not isolated cases. Two years ago, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, there was an almost identical murder case—a man who was a senior executive of a domestic internet giant, fled after illegally directing traffic to overseas gambling websites, later joined the crypto scene and “thrived,” but was ultimately shot dead. His death also pointed to conflicts involving crypto black industry and criminal groups.

Why has Southeast Asia become a “paradise” for the crypto industry?

To understand the deeper background of the Bali case, we must see the true ecosystem of Southeast Asia.

Apart from Singapore, most countries in the region have varying degrees of “black” and “gray” industries:

• Philippines: the only country in Asia to legalize online gambling, with Hong Kong tycoon “Wash Mi Wah”’s online gambling business almost entirely routed through here to mainland China
• Cambodia: Sihanoukville and other areas have become hubs for “pig-butchering” scams, drug trafficking, and human trafficking, making it one of the most chaotic corners in Asia
• Thailand: besides the notorious “sex tourism” industry, it is also the largest transit point for people scammed into gambling in northern Myanmar

The reason why the crypto industry flourishes in these places is simple—loose regulation, corruption among officials, providing a perfect breeding ground for covert transactions and numerous investors. Gambling groups are increasingly using crypto as a cover for money laundering and new financing activities.

In contrast, domestic tycoons who make legitimate money prefer to immigrate to Singapore, while those involved in “gray” industries flock to other parts of Southeast Asia. This alone explains everything.

The warning from the murder case: earn money, but don’t risk your life

The Bali case once again reminds us— in Southeast Asia, crypto bigwigs may make money quickly, but they also become “ATM machines” for various gangs.

In the past two years, similar disappearances and murders have frequently appeared in the media: crypto figures suddenly vanish in Southeast Asia, with bodies eventually found on beaches or remote corners. Investigations show that almost all are related to local gangs and money.

The most ironic thing is that most of these victims flaunted wealth on social media—luxury watches, designer bags, luxury cars, five-star hotels. If the female university student Cheng in the Bali case was “ignorant and fearless,” her death might also be the best footnote to Stefan Zweig’s famous quote:

“The gifts of fate have long been priced in the dark.”

It’s not that Southeast Asia is particularly dangerous, but a reminder to those “gold rushers” in the crypto industry: if you choose to operate in the gray area for profit, you must understand that this account will eventually be settled. How many people have been awakened by the Bali case, and what is the true value behind it?