Popular crypto exchange founder sued after users lose over $200M

The founder of Tokenize Xchange is facing a lawsuit over users losing millions of dollars, The Business Times reported on Nov. 28.

A total of 272 former customers of the crypto trading exchange are suing Hong Qi Yu, the founder and CEO of AmazingTech, the parent company of Tokenize. The lawsuit also mentions COO Erin Koo Kee Hoon who is Hong's wife.

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As per a report filed by court-appointed interim judicial managers in September, AmazingTech owed the users approximately $205.34 million but its realisable assets stood at approximately $2 million only.

The suit claims that Hong and Koo have fraudulently misappropriated the remaining $203.34 million.

The claimants are now claiming $46.65 million in damages — an amount they claim they held on the Tokenize Xchange either on Jul 31, 2025, or when they attempted to withdraw their funds.

“The interim judicial managers’ report that AmazingTech appears to be holding less than 1 per cent of customers’ total assets came as a deep shock to my clients,” Suresh Divyanathan, Dauntless Law Chambers MD and the lead lawyer in charge of the case, told the publication.

“They are incensed that practically all their assets on Tokenize Xchange have disappeared. Some of them have lost their entire life savings.”

What claims does the lawsuit make?

The lawsuit claims that Hong and Koo made several deceptive actions.

It said Tokenize Xchange didn't facilitate trading through a central limit order book but allegedly executed trades directly between itself and the users.

It also said the central limit order book displayed on Tokenize Xchange allegedly belonged to the Binance crypto exchange, with a mark-up on the spread.

It alleged the crypto exchange made a false impression that it had a voluminous order book.

It also claims that Tokenize Xchange commingled company funds and user funds despite its contract promising to hold user funds separately in a trust.

The lawsuit, in particular, mentions an announcement the company made in July this year that it had secured a license in Labuan and was in the “final phase” of securing a license in the Abu Dhabi global market.

But the interim judicial manager’s report mentions the company didn't complete the acquisition of the Labuan entity due to fraud allegations against Hong and no progress took place on the Abu Dhabi plan beyond the preliminary stage.

Nichol Yeo and Clement Julien Tan of Nine Yards Chambers confirmed to The Business Times that they will represent Hong in the legal battle. A different team will reportedly represent Koo.

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What went wrong at Tokenize Exchange?

AmazingTech was incorporated in Singapore in 2016 and operated Tokenize Xchange under an exemption from the Payment Services Act 2019.

The exemption let the crypto exchange perform while it awaited the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) assessment of its application for a Major Payment Institution (MPI) licence.

When the MAS denied AmazingTech’s licence application in July 2025, the authorities asked the financial services company to cease offering payment services. The company was also required to return the funds and cryptocurrencies owned by its customers.

The authorities informed in August 2025 that the Commercial Affairs Department was investigating AmazingTech and its related entities. The company didn't have enough funds to meet the claims of the users, the authorities highlighted potential discrepancies in the separation of customer funds.

The authorities charged Hong with fraudulent trading under the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act in July 2025. The High Court wound up the company in September 2025.

This story was originally published by TheStreet on Nov 30, 2025, where it first appeared in the Business News section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.