Jieworui Implodes: $19B In Gold Investments Frozen As Investors Face Massive Losses

by
Alisa Davidson

Revealed: February 03, 2026 at 4:51 am Up to date: February 03, 2026 at 4:51 am

by Victor Dey

Edited and fact-checked:
February 03, 2026 at 4:51 am

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A Shenzhen-based gold buying and selling platform, Jieworui, has collapsed after working what amounted to a leveraged speculative scheme with no bodily gold backing, leaving greater than 150,000 buyers dealing with losses and looking for to get better their funds. The scenario has escalated as buyers reject a proposed reimbursement plan that may return solely a fraction of their principal in change for relinquishing all authorized claims. The platform has suspended withdrawals and halted deliveries of gold, successfully freezing roughly $19 billion in investor property, with affected customers reportedly provided simply 20% compensation.

Jieworui was headquartered in Shuibei, China’s largest gold and jewellery buying and selling district, and attracted a big retail buyer base via zero-fee gold exchanges, aggressive buyback charges, and a product marketed as “pre-set value buying and selling,” which allowed customers to lock within the value of a gram of gold with deposits as small as $4. In actuality, this technique operated as unlicensed choices buying and selling. The platform assumed the opposing facet of each person place, with leverage reportedly reaching as much as 40 instances. No bodily gold was exchanged, and the platform’s liabilities grew unsustainable when gold costs rose, because it owed customers the distinction between their digital positions and market worth.

Restrictions on withdrawals started round January 20, initially limiting every day withdrawals to $69 or one gram of gold. 1000’s of buyers, together with many who traveled from different provinces, gathered exterior Jieworui’s Shenzhen workplaces to demand entry to their funds, resulting in reported scuffles with native police. Media experiences point out that a lot of the affected buyers are housewives and working-class people, highlighting the widespread affect of the platform’s collapse.

Reimbursement Efforts Fall Brief As Traders Query Asset Claims And Payout Equity

The native authorities established a particular activity drive and introduced on January 31 that Jieworui had begun processing repayments following the liquidation of property and the elevating of extra funds. Authorities additionally commissioned a third-party audit, claiming that the broadly reported determine of 13.4 billion yuan in unpaid funds was “considerably exaggerated.”

Regardless of these official statements, the fact for buyers has been far much less reassuring. Jieworui initially offered two reimbursement choices: a one-time cost equal to twenty% of the principal, or 40% unfold over 12 month-to-month installments. In observe, the precise quantities disbursed have typically fallen nicely under even the 20% threshold. One investor from Henan who had invested $5,100 submitted two separate redemption requests, receiving an preliminary supply of $1,219 and a subsequent supply of solely $244. One other account holder with over $44,400 in money, 5.2 grams of gold, and 1,000 grams of silver was provided barely greater than $2,800, representing roughly six % of her whole holdings.

Traders who had bought platinum via the platform have been fully excluded from the reimbursement course of, fueling issues that Jieworui might by no means have held the bodily metallic. These developments underscore ongoing doubts concerning the platform’s asset claims and the equity of its reimbursement practices.

Traders Resist ‘Prison Pardon’ Agreements Amid Ongoing Reimbursement Standoff And Investigation

Compounding investor frustration, Jieworui’s reimbursement course of requires contributors to signal three separate agreements, together with a so-called “legal pardon letter,” which a number of buyers report would waive any future authorized claims towards the platform, whatever the quantity finally obtained. “Even after signing, there’s no assure you’ll really get the cash. And also you surrender the appropriate to sue. For what — 1,700 yuan ($236)?” an investor from Zhengzhou instructed native media.

Many account holders have declined to signal the agreements, leading to a standoff with the platform, with a number of indicating plans to pursue unbiased authorized motion.

Jieworui’s social media presence has been eliminated, calls to the corporate have gone unanswered, and makes an attempt to contact its proprietor, Zhang Zhiteng, have been unsuccessful. Authorities from the Luohu District activity drive acknowledged that they’re persevering with to register sufferer claims, and the investigation into the platform stays lively.

Alisa, a devoted journalist on the MPost, makes a speciality of cryptocurrency, zero-knowledge proofs, investments, and the expansive realm of Web3. With a eager eye for rising developments and applied sciences, she delivers complete protection to tell and interact readers within the ever-evolving panorama of digital finance.

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