Pincoin / iFan
Summary
Pincoin and iFan were two cryptocurrency tokens promoted in Vietnam in 2017–2018 by Modern Tech Joint-Stock Company, a Ho Chi Minh City-based firm operated by eight Vietnamese nationals. The scheme promised monthly returns of up to 48 percent through a multi-level marketing structure and is alleged to have defrauded approximately 32,000 investors of roughly 15 trillion Vietnamese dong (approximately $660 million USD), making it one of the largest ICO exit scams on record. The eight operators vacated their offices and allegedly fled Vietnam around March 2018; as of publicly available reporting through 2021, no confirmed arrests or convictions of the principals had been reported in English-language sources.
Connected Entities
1 entities · 10 linked investigationsTimeline(10 events)
2017-10-01
Modern Tech Joint-Stock Company incorporated in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, with VND 100 billion charter capital and eight shareholders.
Vietnamese investors fall for $650 mln cryptocurrency scam — VnExpress International2017-11-01
Pincoin ERC-20 token contract compiled (Solidity v0.4.19 nightly, November 2017) and deployed on Ethereum at 0xC8a8D2A81cc86b95beb04E5a320D7E53F3c627dd.
PINCOIN (PIN) Token Tracker — Etherscan2017-12-01
Modern Tech begins accepting investments in Pincoin and iFan, initially paying returns in Vietnamese dong via bank transfer to build credibility.
Exit scammers run off with $660 million in ICO earnings — TechCrunch2018-01-01
Modern Tech stops paying investors in cash and begins distributing iFan tokens as rewards instead; cash withdrawals blocked. iFan tokens trade at approximately $0.01 despite company's stated internal valuation of $5.
Apr 2018 — Pincoin/iFan ICO Scam — Quadriga Initiative2018-03-01
Modern Tech vacates its District 1, Ho Chi Minh City office. All eight principals reportedly leave Vietnam.
City investigates fraud case — Vietnam News2018-04-08
Approximately 32,000 affected investors organize a protest outside Modern Tech's former headquarters on Nguyen Hue Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, carrying banners denouncing the scheme.
An Alleged $660 Million ICO Scam Sparked a Protest In Vietnam — Vice2018-04-08
Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee vice chairman Le Thanh Liem sends urgent letter to city police requesting investigation of Modern Tech.
City investigates fraud case — Vietnam News2018-04-11
General director Ho Xuan Van's mobile phone is switched off; CoinDesk and VnExpress publish major English-language reports on the scheme.
Vietnam Investigates ICO Fraud After $660 Million in Losses Reported — CoinDesk2018-04-12
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc signs directive strengthening state management of cryptocurrency activities; Deputy PM Vuong Dinh Hue orders six ministries to act against the scheme.
Vietnam eyes cryptocurrency crackdown after alleged $660 mn scam — Phys.org / AFP2018-04-13
TechCrunch publishes widely-cited report characterizing the event as an exit scam; English-language coverage reaches global audience.
Exit scammers run off with $660 million in ICO earnings — TechCrunchDecision Log
- hash: j1vaJovCM79UGckvuUNTogYYeqLZkSekcAFt8gESBaM
- hash: 4vSzj4LMGsY8HUsHR7rmqKvHrmXBiSQpN1jy8EpzCyXN
- hash: Gaz7LGbXVSazXzf76SvDyvJ32efKMPxuKqFNTcrkthsg
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain and source URLs are archived via the Internet Archive.
model: claude-code-investigator
generated: 5/31/2026, 7:53:27 PM
last updated: 6/1/2026, 4:08:35 AM
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