Share this article
Spanish Police Arrest Head of Billion-Dollar Crypto Arbitrage Platform on Fraud Allegations
Arbistar 2.0 operator Santiago Fuentes was arrested Wednesday and faces criminal fraud and money laundering charges in Spain.
By Danny Nelson
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 10:22 a.m. Published Oct 22, 2020, 6:54 p.m.
Spanish National Police have arrested the operator of cryptocurrency arbitrage firm Arbistar 2.0 in a crackdown on the platform that researchers and investors allege to be a massive bitcoin Ponzi scheme.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
- Regional news outlet La Provincial reports operator Santiago Fuentes was taken into custody in Tenerife on Wednesday morning and was to have been formally charged with financial fraud and money laundering Thursday.
- Fuentes' site serves around 120,000 users who together have invested 40,000 in bitcoin ($520 million) into its arbitrage trading bot, blockchain investigations firm Tulip Research told CoinDesk, adding that Arbistar 2.0 has raised over $1 billion in bitcoin total.
- Investors began to accuse the platform of fraud last month when Fuentes claimed a "computer error" had disabled trading bot withdrawals and wiped out more than a quarter of funds, Tulip Research said.
- Tulip said it has linked some of Arbistar's withdrawal activity to dark-net market Hydra. It called the platform's frequent crypto returns (up to 1% daily) and limited withdrawal opportunities (only on weekends) elements of a "classic Ponzi scheme."
- Fuentes has previously denied allegations that Arbistar 2.0 is fraudulent or bankrupt.
The arrest should serve as a reminder to crypto investors of the value bitcoin's traceable blockchain provides to investigators. While scammers can easily dupe unwitting investors with promises of high crypto returns, their use of bitcoin makes following the money easier.
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
Bitcoin’s Deep Correction Sets Stage for December Rebound, Says K33 Research
K33 Research says market fear is outweighing fundamentals as bitcoin nears key levels. December could offer an entry point for bold investors.
What to know:
- K33 Research says bitcoin’s steep correction shows signs of bottoming, with December potentially marking a turning point.
- The firm has argued that the market is overreacting to long-term risks while ignoring near-term signals of strength, like low leverage and solid support levels.
- With likely policy shifts ahead and cautious positioning in futures, K33 sees more upside potential than risk of another major collapse.
Top Stories
