The Central Bank of Russia publicly flagged AI Make USDT as a pyramid scheme on July 23, 2024, just twelve days after the platform's domain, aimakeusdt.net, was registered through Alibaba Singapore. The registration details for the website proved to be fabricated.
AI Make USDT operates without disclosing any information about its ownership or executive team. The website offers no verifiable contact details or corporate registration. Such anonymity often precedes fraudulent operations, making it impossible for investors to identify the individuals responsible for the scheme.
The platform offers no genuine products or services. Its business model relies solely on affiliates recruiting other affiliates, who then invest Tether (USDT). This structure is characteristic of a pyramid scheme, where new money funds earlier payouts.
Participants invest Tether into various tiers, each promising escalating daily passive returns. The USDT-1 tier requires 100 USDT, with an undisclosed daily return. Higher tiers include USDT-2 at 200 USDT for a 16% daily return, USDT-3 at 500 USDT for 16.5%, USDT-4 at 1000 USDT for 17%, and USDT-5 at 5000 USDT for 17.5% daily. These percentages are unusually high and inherently unsustainable for any legitimate investment.
Recruitment incentives further drive the scheme. Affiliates earn commissions across three levels: 12% for direct referrals, 3% for second-level recruits, and 2% for third-level recruits. The platform also provides a 24-hour volume bonus. For example, generating 1000 USDT in downline investment yields a 14 USDT bonus, while generating 100,000 USDT earns 9800 USDT, with scaled bonuses in between.
AI Make USDT claims affiliates generate these returns by simply "clicking a button" within an application. The platform suggests that each click triggers a "quantitative trade," and the profits from these trades are then shared with the investor. This narrative is a fabrication. Clicking a button on a phone application does not execute complex quantitative trading strategies. The app merely displays numbers designed to create the illusion of earnings.
In reality, the funds deposited by new investors are used to pay off earlier investors, following classic Ponzi scheme mechanics. No actual trading occurs, and no legitimate profits are generated. The entire system depends on a continuous influx of fresh capital.
AI Make USDT is part of a broader trend of "click a button" app-based Ponzi schemes that emerged in late 2021. These operations typically employ similar "quantitative trading" narratives and follow a consistent pattern of rapid collapse. Past examples include A8 AI USDT, OLYMP Quantify, and Oscar AI, all of which promised high returns for minimal effort before disappearing. Hundreds of these schemes have been documented, with most failing within weeks or a few months of launch.
These platforms commonly vanish without warning, simultaneously taking down their websites and applications. The sudden shutdown leaves the majority of participants with significant financial losses, a predictable outcome of Ponzi scheme mathematics. Investigators believe a consistent group of Chinese scammers operates many of these related schemes.
AI Make USDT ceased operations by August 26, 2024, with its website going offline.