The founder of the Canadian exchange ezBtc is accused of embezzling customer funds and privately tra

The Canadian cryptocurrency trading platform ezBtc and its founder David Smillie are accused of misappropriating approximately CAD 13 million (approximately USD 9.5 million) of customer cryptocurrency assets and using these funds for gambling.

The ezBtc platform ceased operation around September 2019 and was dissolved in 2022. The platform once claimed to store all users' cryptocurrency investments in a cold wallet. According to a survey conducted by the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) in Canada, between 2016 and 2019, ezBtc raised over 2300 bitcoins and 600 Ethereum from investors.

However, the BCSC investigation team found that founder David Smillie transferred 935.46 bitcoins and 159 ether coins to his trading account and used them for gambling websites such as CloudBet and FortuneBack. Some funds were transferred directly from ezBtc, while others were transferred through Smillie's account.

The group pointed out that Smillie and ezBtc's deceptive behavior resulted in customers being unable to extract their assets, causing actual financial losses. According to court documents, the relevant sanctions will be decided before September 24th, which may include economic penalties or market participation bans.