Scammers exploit Bitcoin ETF hype with fake IBTC token

Crypto investors have fallen victim to a scam token, which shares the same ticker as BlackRock’s legit ETF.

BNB Chain-based iShares Bitcoin (IBTC) token has scammed investors for nearly $90,000 worth of crypto as the crypto community is abuzz with spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) excitement.

According to an X post from a blockchain analytics firm PeckShield, a bad actor has swapped one quadrillion IBTC tokens for 394.8 Binance Coin (BNB) worth of $89,000 through PancakeSwap, with IBTC’s price immediately dropping by 100% from $0.0025.

Once the scammer swapped IBTC for BNB. They sent the whole sum to 0x3f…04ed, an address that received over $700,000 worth of BNB tokens from PancakeSwap over the past few days, and contacted Binance’s withdrawal address.

According to on-chain data seen by crypto.news, the address associated with the scammer (0xf49…c5b37) also contacted Binance on Oct. 24, receiving from the exchange’s hot wallet 0.0555 BNB.

Crypto investors might have mistaken the scam token for BlackRock’s proposed iShares Bitcoin ETF, which shares the same IBTC ticker. As traders and Bitcoin proponents bet on an imminent regulatory nod from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), lawyers surmised that approvals for spot Bitcoin ETFs could arrive before the end of 2023.

As crypto.news earlier reported, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit also formalized its ruling in the Grayscale case, mounting additional pressure on Gary Gensler’s SEC to review Grayscale Bitcoin Trust’s conversion to a Bitcoin ETF in a move that could part the floodgates of approvals or usher further delays for issuers.