Share this article
Mirror Trading Clients Should Take Their Money and Run, South African Regulator Advises
FCSA said Mirror Trading's self-proclaimed 10% monthly returns "seems far-fetched and unrealistic" as it opened an investigation.
By Danny Nelson
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 9:45 a.m. Published Aug 19, 2020, 9:30 p.m.
South Africa's financial watchdog is investigating Mirror Trading International (MTI), a purportedly lucrative crypto trading network that Texas state regulators last month declared as a fraud.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
- At the very least, the Financial Services Conduct Authority (FSCA) intoned in its Tuesday announcement that MTI is operating a financial service without a license.
- MTI told FSCA its bots conduct high-frequency derivatives trades with client's pooled bitcoin, consistently generating 10% monthly returns.
- But FSCA said it "has much greater concern" about the legitimacy of MTI's purported business model. It said in a statement that such a consistent high yield "seems far-fetched and unrealistic."
- Regulators are now parsing through statements made by a former platform broker for MTI that may contradict MTI's self-descriptions.
- MTI has "partially cooperated" in the inquiry, according to FSCA, and informed clients of the investigation. FSCA recommended that all clients jump ship post-haste: "We recommend that clients request refunds into their own accounts as soon as possible."
- MTI CEO Johann Steynberg denied the trading club is a scam in a letter to investors obtained by the news site Bitcoin.com.
- FSCA's inquiry comes just over a month after the Texas State Securities Board ordered MTI and its associates to "cease and desist" what it called a multi-level marketing scam.
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Coinbase Reopens India Signups, Targets Fiat On-Ramp in 2026 After Two-Year Freeze
Coinbase halted services entirely in 2023, off-boarded millions of Indian users and shuttered local access while reassessing regulatory exposure.
What to know:
- Coinbase has resumed onboarding users in India, marking its return to the market after a two-year hiatus due to regulatory issues.
- The exchange is currently allowing crypto-to-crypto trading and plans to reintroduce fiat on-ramps next year.
- Despite regulatory challenges, Coinbase is investing in India, including increasing its stake in local exchange CoinDCX.
Top Stories
