Huang Tianwei, founder of the defunct cryptocurrency exchange AEX (also known as Bit Times), has been granted bail in Thailand following his arrest related to the platform’s 2022 collapse.
The bail was secured by his family at 19:00 on July 3 in Chiang Rai Province.
Despite his release, Huang continues to refuse the return of user funds that were locked up when the platform abruptly suspended operations.
Since its founding in 2013, AEX had built a strong reputation among veteran cryptocurrency investors, commonly referred to as “OGs”, who entrusted the platform with substantial deposits.
To date, only three individuals have successfully recovered any portion of their assets from the exchange, and these recoveries occurred under highly unusual and confrontational circumstances.
AEX Exchange Collapse Left Users Empty-Handed
AEX shut down its withdrawal functions in July 2022, citing short-term liquidity issues.
The official announcement on July 17 of that year stated that the platform was halting all services at the request of law enforcement and would cooperate with an investigation.
However, in the aftermath, the exchange failed to resume operations or allow users to recover their funds.
Huang fled and has remained uncooperative, denying withdrawal access to any user. This has sparked widespread anger in the crypto community, especially among long-term users who had substantial holdings on the platform.
The situation has been further exacerbated by a lack of legal clarity and enforcement across international jurisdictions.
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Recoveries Only Achieved Through Extreme Measures
Among the few who managed to recover their funds, all did so through extraordinary and sometimes illegal means.
Rong Hua raised funds from fellow AEX victims and traveled to Huang’s ancestral hometown in Lianjiang, where he unearthed Huang’s ancestral grave in a bid to pressure the family.
The unorthodox act resulted in him regaining 80% of his funds and signing a confidentiality agreement with a promise that the remaining 20% would be repaid within two years.
In another case, Shi Dewei and two others kidnapped Huang, forcing him into a car and confronting him over the missing funds.
They successfully retrieved their assets but faced legal consequences, Shi was detained for 15 days.
Wu Jun, a major investor in AEX, managed to recover his money after Huang’s arrest in Thailand for fraud.
The Broader Implications for Crypto Regulation and Justice
The AEX scandal highlights a broader pattern of weak enforcement and accountability in the crypto space, especially concerning international fugitives and cross-border financial crimes.
Huang’s refusal to return funds despite being under legal scrutiny underscores the limits of current regulatory frameworks in protecting investors.
Cases like this erode public trust and reveal a pressing need for more coordinated international crypto regulation and asset recovery mechanisms.
It also shows that justice, when it occurs, is often uneven, favoring those with the means or proximity to confront the perpetrators in person, rather than following formal legal channels.
Similar Cases Show Growing Legal Pressure on Crypto Executives
Huang’s case is not isolated. In South Korea, former Bithumb CEO Lee Sang-joon was recently granted bail after spending six months in detention for accepting bribes tied to token listings.
His release came with strict bail conditions, including a 50 million won bond and travel restrictions.
Similarly, the South Korean judiciary granted bail to defendants in the first criminal crypto related case under the new Virtual Assets User Protection Act, related to coin price manipulation and fraudulent volume inflation.
These developments indicate that legal systems worldwide are beginning to respond more assertively to crypto-related fraud, but enforcement remains inconsistent and reactive, especially in cases involving international jurisdictions like Huang Tianwei’s.
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