A major development has unfolded in one of India’s largest cryptocurrency scam investigations, known as the GainBitcoin case. On March 9, Ayush Varshney—the co-founder and CTO of Darwin Labs—was detained at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport as he attempted to board a flight to Sri Lanka. Varshney has been linked to GainBitcoin, a scheme that emerged nearly a decade ago, defrauding thousands of crypto investors across the country.
How the Scheme Worked and Varshney’s Involvement
GainBitcoin began operating under the banner of Variabletech Pte. Ltd. in 2015, promising investors 10 percent returns in Bitcoin every month for an 18-month period. The platform functioned as a Ponzi scheme: payouts to early investors were funded by money collected from new participants. As recruitment slowed, GainBitcoin shifted from paying backers in Bitcoin to issuing a low-value token called MCAP. This left investors receiving MCAP tokens—which rapidly lost value—instead of the lucrative Bitcoin income they were promised.
Darwin Labs and Varshney are accused of establishing the technical backbone of this fraudulent structure. All key components—from the MCAP token’s ERC-20 smart contracts to the GBMiners.com platform and the GainBitcoin investor portal—were reportedly developed by Darwin Labs. The sophisticated appearance and professional interfaces of these platforms played a crucial role in convincing investors of the scheme’s credibility and ongoing viability.
It’s estimated that losses in connection to this fraud range between 29,000 and 80,000 Bitcoins, although the exact figure remains uncertain due to the challenges of tracing funds across multiple wallets, exchanges and jurisdictions. By current market value, this case stands out as one of the biggest crypto scams in history.
Key Figures and the Investigation’s Progress
As GainBitcoin fell apart, a surge of complaints poured in from across India, prompting years of investigations. Other Darwin Labs co-founders, Sahil Baghla and Nikunj Jain, were arrested in 2018, while Amit Bhardwaj—considered the mastermind—was convicted before passing away in 2022. Meanwhile, probe into his brother, Ajay Bhardwaj, is ongoing. In December 2023, India’s Supreme Court consolidated multiple regional cases under the jurisdiction of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), as part of which an alert for Varshney was entered into national immigration records.
When Varshney attempted to leave the country, immigration officials at the airport flagged him and handed him over to the CBI. After completing formal procedures, Varshney was officially placed under arrest.
Legal Risks for Technical Developers
Besides being the country’s largest active crypto fraud, the GainBitcoin investigation is notable for also targeting developers responsible for building technical infrastructures. Unlike cases that only pursue promoters or managers, this case stands out for holding software developers accountable—in this instance, Varshney is charged for directly engineering the platform’s software, smart contracts, and investor portal. The case now pivots on whether these technical solutions were designed for general use or specifically tailored to enable fraud, which has emerged as a central legal controversy.
Legal experts note that this aspect is increasingly at play in related cases. The extent to which infrastructure developers are directly implicated could shape the outcome of future prosecutions in crypto-related crimes.
Parallel Cases Worldwide
The GainBitcoin affair is not unique in the global crypto industry. Just two weeks ago, U.S. federal authorities arrested Christopher Alexander Delgado, who allegedly used his firm, Goliath Ventures Inc., to solicit major investments using similar tactics between 2023 and 2026. The Department of Justice has brought charges, accusing Delgado of defrauding thousands, with his firm’s branding and approach particularly targeting young investors.
Both cases share common threads: platforms that seem complex and credible on the surface, bold but unrealistic profit promises, and opaque operations, collectively misleading investors about the true nature of the systems.
