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{"actor":"system:backfill","investigation_id":"14666140-4e67-4949-89b8-6754ee762b33","kind":"publish","page_slug":"davorcoin","published_at":"2026-05-31T18:13:18.013Z","sequence_num":1,"snapshot":{"content_type":"investigation","entity_name":"DavorCoin","sections":[{"content":"DavorCoin launched its ICO on November 6, 2017, and ran a cryptocurrency lending platform at the domain davor.io. The platform offered a PoW/PoS hybrid blockchain token (DAV) running on the Scrypt algorithm with a maximum supply of 40,000,000 DAV, of which 10,000,000 were pre-mined. DavorCoin emerged during the same period as BitConnect and was marketed explicitly to cryptocurrency investors seeking passive income through a lending program. The domain davor.io was privately registered on October 18, 2017, and the operators declined to disclose the company's principals or place of business, citing alleged 'tax and regulation risks.' Regulatory filings and independent analysts characterized the platform as a Ponzi scheme with no verifiable revenue source beyond new investor capital.","heading":"Overview","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"DavorCoin Latest Cryptocurrency Platform Hit With Order — Texas State Securities Board","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.ssb.texas.gov/news-publications/davorcoin-latest-cryptocurrency-platform-hit-order"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DavorCoin Review: Daily variable ROI altcoin lending Ponzi — BehindMLM","type":"research","url":"https://behindmlm.com/mlm-reviews/davorcoin-review-daily-variable-roi-altcoin-lending-ponzi/"}]},{"content":"DavorCoin operated tiered investment packages in which investors purchased DAV tokens and then 'lent' them back to the platform in exchange for daily returns. The tiers ranged from $100–$1,000 (299-day terms) up to $25,001 and above (89-day terms), with higher-tier investors receiving bonus ROI percentages of 0.1% to 0.35% per day. The platform advertised a monthly interest rate of up to 48%, with daily variable ROI averaging 1–1.85%. The Texas State Securities Board's Emergency Order specifically cited a claim that an investor lending $30,000 in DavorCoin could earn $513 per day, $3,591 per week, $15,390 per 30 days, and $107,217 over 120 days. DavorCoin provided no explanation of how these returns would be generated. Independent analysts noted the scheme had no retailable products or services; affiliates could only market affiliate membership itself. Referral commissions were paid through a five-level unilevel structure: 8% (Level 1), 4% (Level 2), 2% (Level 3), and 1% each for Levels 4 and 5. A 'Platinum Affiliate' designation offered elevated commission rates under unpublished qualification criteria. Regulators and analysts concluded that the only source of income was new investor capital, the classical hallmark of a Ponzi scheme.","heading":"Lending Program Structure","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"DavorCoin Latest Cryptocurrency Platform Hit With Order — Texas State Securities Board","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.ssb.texas.gov/news-publications/davorcoin-latest-cryptocurrency-platform-hit-order"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Texas Hits Another Crypto Lending Platform with Cease-and-Desist — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2018/02/05/texas-hits-another-crypto-lending-platform-with-cease-and-desist/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DavorCoin Review: Daily variable ROI altcoin lending Ponzi — BehindMLM","type":"research","url":"https://behindmlm.com/mlm-reviews/davorcoin-review-daily-variable-roi-altcoin-lending-ponzi/"}]},{"content":"On February 2, 2018, Texas Securities Commissioner Travis J. Iles entered an Emergency Cease and Desist Order against DavorCoin, representing the fourth such emergency action by the Texas State Securities Board against unregistered cryptocurrency investment schemes targeting Texas residents. Previous orders had targeted BitConnect, R2B Coin, and USI-Tech. The order alleged that DavorCoin was offering and selling unregistered securities through affiliates in violation of the Texas Securities Act. Specific violations identified included: offering investments with no disclosure of how promised profits would be generated; failure to identify principals or place of business; materially misleading and deceptive statements; and false suggestions that DAV could be traded on mainstream exchanges like stocks. TSSB Enforcement Director Joseph Rotunda stated that such offerings posed 'a grave threat to traditional investors' lacking a 'fair description of the terms, identity and qualifications of principals and the material risks.' Commissioner Iles warned that 'fraudulent securitized cryptocurrencies' operators use 'technology in a way that conceals their identity,' leaving investors backing 'nothing more than a promise made through a website maintained by an anonymous group.' The TSSB noted that DavorCoin appeared to have intensified its marketing after BitConnect's closure, with the platform allegedly announcing 'this does not change anything for us' and 'DavorCoin is now the number one lending platform in the world!!'","heading":"Texas State Securities Board Emergency Cease and Desist Order","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"DavorCoin Latest Cryptocurrency Platform Hit With Order — Texas State Securities Board","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.ssb.texas.gov/news-publications/davorcoin-latest-cryptocurrency-platform-hit-order"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Administrative Action Report: Jan.–March 2018 — Texas State Securities Board","type":"regulatory","url":"https://ssb.state.tx.us/news-publications/administrative-action-report-jan-march-2018"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Texas Hits Another Crypto Lending Platform with Cease-and-Desist — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2018/02/05/texas-hits-another-crypto-lending-platform-with-cease-and-desist/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DavorCoin: Texas State Securities Issues Fourth Emergency Cease-Desist — NewsBTC","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.newsbtc.com/news/davorcoin-texas-state-securities-board-issues-fourth-emergency-cease-and-desist/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DavorCoin Served Cease and Desist From Texas State Securities Board — The Blockchain","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.the-blockchain.com/2018/02/04/davorcoin-served-cease-desist-texas-state-securities-board/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DavorCoin securities fraud cease and desist issued in Texas — BehindMLM","type":"news_article","url":"https://behindmlm.com/companies/davorcoin-securities-fraud-cease-and-desist-issued-in-texas/"}]},{"content":"DAV token reached an alleged peak price of approximately $170–$180 in mid-January 2018. Following a broader cryptocurrency market downturn in January 2018 and the collapse of BitConnect, DAV's price began a rapid decline. By the time DavorCoin announced its shutdown, DAV was trading at approximately $0.09, representing a decline of over 99% from peak. On approximately February 7–8, 2018, DavorCoin published an announcement stating it was ending its lending program. Operators cited 'the current situation of the Davor project, of lending programs, of the cryptocurrency market and of legal issues regarding lending platforms and cryptocurrencies in general.' Rather than returning investors' original Bitcoin deposits, DavorCoin credited each user's account with the number of DAV tokens they had lent plus a 10% bonus in the same depreciating token — a compensation mechanism that provided negligible real value given the token's near-total devaluation. This mirrored the behavior observed in BitConnect's closure. CoinGeek reported that from a high of over $170, DAV sat at $0.09 at the time of the shutdown announcement. BehindMLM subsequently reported the price further plummeted to approximately 6 cents and continuing downward. The domain davor.io reportedly went offline by August 2024.","heading":"Price Collapse and Platform Shutdown","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"BitConnect Again? DavorCoin Price Dives After Lending Site Shutdown — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/bitconnect-davorcoin-price-dives-lending-site-shutdown"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DavorCoin takes down lending platform as it joins Bitconnect in authorities' hit list — CoinGeek","type":"news_article","url":"https://coingeek.com/davorcoin-takes-lending-platform-joins-bitconnect-authorities-hit-list/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DavorCoin collapses, DAV plummets to 6 cents — BehindMLM","type":"news_article","url":"https://behindmlm.com/companies/davorcoin-collapses-dav-plummets-to-6-cents/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Another Crypto Ponzi scheme collapses: DavorCoin caught defrauding investors — Risk.news","type":"news_article","url":"https://risk.news/2018-02-18-another-crypto-ponzi-scheme-collapses-davorcoin-caught-defrauding-investors.html"}]},{"content":"The total aggregate losses attributable to DavorCoin are not precisely documented in available public sources. Reports describe losses affecting investors in Germany, Austria, the United States, Switzerland, and other countries. Individual investor accounts describe losses of up to $100,000 with recovery of only approximately $25 in value after the token-denominated repayment. The scheme was reportedly smaller in total scale than BitConnect, which caused an estimated $2.4 billion in losses, though DavorCoin's losses are described across multiple sources as reaching 'several million dollars' or 'many millions of euros.' Texas regulators noted the scheme was being marketed toward retirees. No federal charges by the SEC, CFTC, or DOJ specifically targeting DavorCoin operators have been identified in publicly available records as of the research date. The anonymous nature of the operators has made individual accountability difficult.","heading":"Investor Losses and Impact","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Another Crypto Ponzi scheme collapses: DavorCoin caught defrauding investors — Risk.news","type":"news_article","url":"https://risk.news/2018-02-18-another-crypto-ponzi-scheme-collapses-davorcoin-caught-defrauding-investors.html"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DavorCoin collapses, DAV plummets to 6 cents — BehindMLM","type":"news_article","url":"https://behindmlm.com/companies/davorcoin-collapses-dav-plummets-to-6-cents/"}]},{"content":"DavorCoin's operators actively concealed the identity of the platform's principals. The company stated it 'cannot officialize its domiciliation' due to 'tax and regulation risks,' a claim Texas regulators described as a deliberate tactic to evade accountability. The davor.io domain was privately registered. Some secondary sources name 'Julien Dav' as a founder or CEO and describe the company as Paris-based, however these details originate from third-party business intelligence databases (Tracxn) rather than any official company disclosure or verified primary source, and cannot be independently confirmed. The use of French and English on the platform's website led some analysts to infer a European origin. Texas Securities Commissioner Iles characterized the operators as 'an anonymous group' operating 'nothing more than a promise made through a website.' The identity concealment is itself cited as a material violation in the Emergency Cease and Desist Order.","heading":"Team Anonymity and Identity Concealment","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"DavorCoin Latest Cryptocurrency Platform Hit With Order — Texas State Securities Board","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.ssb.texas.gov/news-publications/davorcoin-latest-cryptocurrency-platform-hit-order"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DavorCoin Review: Daily variable ROI altcoin lending Ponzi — BehindMLM","type":"research","url":"https://behindmlm.com/mlm-reviews/davorcoin-review-daily-variable-roi-altcoin-lending-ponzi/"},{"credibility":3,"name":"DavorCoin — Tracxn Company Profile","type":"other","url":"https://tracxn.com/d/companies/davorcoin/__a4XKjr5-ez9stwCQlUaoYq0iKW6XOFyKDrSjEiKe2LA"}]},{"content":"Multiple regulatory and media sources explicitly compared DavorCoin's structure to BitConnect, the large-scale cryptocurrency lending Ponzi scheme that collapsed in January 2018. The Texas State Securities Board noted in its enforcement action that DavorCoin 'appeared to step up marketing of its lending program after the closure' of BitConnect. Analysts described DavorCoin as being marketed primarily to BitConnect victims seeking a replacement income stream, with one BehindMLM analysis characterizing it as a 'reload lending ICO Ponzi scam' targeting those who had already lost money in BitConnect. The operational structure — investor-funded token purchases, lending programs with fixed daily returns, multi-level referral commissions, and anonymous operators — was materially identical across both schemes. DavorCoin's shutdown, in which investors were repaid in a nearly worthless proprietary token rather than their original deposits, also mirrored BitConnect's exit pattern.","heading":"Comparison to BitConnect","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"DavorCoin Latest Cryptocurrency Platform Hit With Order — Texas State Securities Board","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.ssb.texas.gov/news-publications/davorcoin-latest-cryptocurrency-platform-hit-order"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DavorCoin takes down lending platform as it joins Bitconnect in authorities' hit list — CoinGeek","type":"news_article","url":"https://coingeek.com/davorcoin-takes-lending-platform-joins-bitconnect-authorities-hit-list/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DavorCoin Review: Daily variable ROI altcoin lending Ponzi — BehindMLM","type":"research","url":"https://behindmlm.com/mlm-reviews/davorcoin-review-daily-variable-roi-altcoin-lending-ponzi/"}]}],"sources_used":[{"credibility":1,"name":"DavorCoin Latest Cryptocurrency Platform Hit With Order — Texas State Securities Board","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.ssb.texas.gov/news-publications/davorcoin-latest-cryptocurrency-platform-hit-order"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Administrative Action Report: Jan.–March 2018 — Texas State Securities Board","type":"regulatory","url":"https://ssb.state.tx.us/news-publications/administrative-action-report-jan-march-2018"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Texas Hits Another Crypto Lending Platform with Cease-and-Desist — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2018/02/05/texas-hits-another-crypto-lending-platform-with-cease-and-desist/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"BitConnect Again? DavorCoin Price Dives After Lending Site Shutdown — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/bitconnect-davorcoin-price-dives-lending-site-shutdown"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DavorCoin takes down lending platform as it joins Bitconnect in authorities' hit list — CoinGeek","type":"news_article","url":"https://coingeek.com/davorcoin-takes-lending-platform-joins-bitconnect-authorities-hit-list/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DavorCoin collapses, DAV plummets to 6 cents — BehindMLM","type":"news_article","url":"https://behindmlm.com/companies/davorcoin-collapses-dav-plummets-to-6-cents/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DavorCoin Review: Daily variable ROI altcoin lending Ponzi — BehindMLM","type":"research","url":"https://behindmlm.com/mlm-reviews/davorcoin-review-daily-variable-roi-altcoin-lending-ponzi/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DavorCoin securities fraud cease and desist issued in Texas — BehindMLM","type":"news_article","url":"https://behindmlm.com/companies/davorcoin-securities-fraud-cease-and-desist-issued-in-texas/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DavorCoin: Texas State Securities Issues Fourth Emergency Cease-Desist — NewsBTC","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.newsbtc.com/news/davorcoin-texas-state-securities-board-issues-fourth-emergency-cease-and-desist/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DavorCoin Served Cease and Desist From Texas State Securities Board — The Blockchain","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.the-blockchain.com/2018/02/04/davorcoin-served-cease-desist-texas-state-securities-board/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Texas Securities Commissioner Issues Emergency Cease And Desist Order Against DavorCoin — FinanceFeeds","type":"news_article","url":"https://financefeeds.com/texas-securities-commissioner-issues-emergency-cease-desist-order-cryptocurrency-firm-davorcoin/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Another Crypto Ponzi scheme collapses: DavorCoin caught defrauding investors — Risk.news","type":"news_article","url":"https://risk.news/2018-02-18-another-crypto-ponzi-scheme-collapses-davorcoin-caught-defrauding-investors.html"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DavorCoin Newest Digital Currency Lending Platform Hit With Cease and Desist — Coinsquare","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coinsquare.com/en-ca/learn/davorcoin-newest-digital-currency-lending-platform-hit-with-cease-and-desist"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Texas Securities Cases: DavorCoin Barred from Offering Investments — InvestorLawyers.com","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.investorlawyers.com/blog/texas-securities-cases-two-dallas-men-ordered-halt-4m-oil-gas-offering-amidst-fraud-allegations-davorcoin-barred-offering-investments-austin-cryptocurrency-investment-firm-told/"},{"credibility":3,"name":"DavorCoin Company Profile — Tracxn","type":"other","url":"https://tracxn.com/d/companies/davorcoin/__a4XKjr5-ez9stwCQlUaoYq0iKW6XOFyKDrSjEiKe2LA"}],"summary":"DavorCoin (DAV) was a cryptocurrency lending platform launched in late 2017 that operated a structure regulators characterized as a Ponzi scheme, promising investors returns of up to 48% per month through a lending program. On February 2, 2018, the Texas State Securities Board issued an Emergency Cease and Desist Order against DavorCoin for selling unregistered securities and making materially misleading statements. The platform shut down its lending program on approximately February 8, 2018, repaying investors in near-worthless DAV tokens rather than the Bitcoin they deposited.","timeline":[{"date":"2017-10-18","event":"davor.io domain privately registered","source":"BehindMLM — DavorCoin Review","source_url":"https://behindmlm.com/mlm-reviews/davorcoin-review-daily-variable-roi-altcoin-lending-ponzi/"},{"date":"2017-11-06","event":"DavorCoin ICO launched; token sale opened to the public","source":"Steemit — DAVOR COIN RECOMMENDED ICO, STARTING NOVEMBER 6 2017","source_url":"https://steemit.com/cryptocurrency/@diky/davor-coin-recommended-ico-starting-november-6-2017"},{"date":"2017-12-05","event":"DavorCoin ICO concluded","source":"BehindMLM — DavorCoin Review","source_url":"https://behindmlm.com/mlm-reviews/davorcoin-review-daily-variable-roi-altcoin-lending-ponzi/"},{"date":"2018-01-01","event":"DAV token reaches alleged peak price of approximately $170–$180; lending platform in full operation","source":"CoinGeek — DavorCoin takes down lending platform","source_url":"https://coingeek.com/davorcoin-takes-lending-platform-joins-bitconnect-authorities-hit-list/"},{"date":"2018-01-16","event":"BitConnect collapses; DavorCoin publicly claims to be unaffected and declares itself 'the number one lending platform in the world'","source":"Texas State Securities Board — DavorCoin Emergency Order","source_url":"https://www.ssb.texas.gov/news-publications/davorcoin-latest-cryptocurrency-platform-hit-order"},{"date":"2018-02-02","event":"Texas Securities Commissioner Travis J. Iles issues Emergency Cease and Desist Order against DavorCoin for selling unregistered securities and making materially misleading statements","source":"Texas State Securities Board — DavorCoin Latest Cryptocurrency Platform Hit With Order","source_url":"https://www.ssb.texas.gov/news-publications/davorcoin-latest-cryptocurrency-platform-hit-order"},{"date":"2018-02-05","event":"CoinDesk and other outlets report on the Texas emergency order; DAV price already well below peak","source":"CoinDesk — Texas Hits Another Crypto Lending Platform with Cease-and-Desist","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2018/02/05/texas-hits-another-crypto-lending-platform-with-cease-and-desist/"},{"date":"2018-02-08","event":"DavorCoin announces closure of lending platform via Medium post; operators cite 'legal issues' and the changing crypto environment; investors offered DAV token repayment plus 10% bonus rather than original Bitcoin","source":"CoinGeek — DavorCoin takes down lending platform","source_url":"https://coingeek.com/davorcoin-takes-lending-platform-joins-bitconnect-authorities-hit-list/"},{"date":"2018-02-18","event":"Reports confirm DavorCoin has collapsed; DAV trading at approximately $0.06 or less; investors report near-total loss of deposited funds","source":"Risk.news — Another Crypto Ponzi scheme collapses","source_url":"https://risk.news/2018-02-18-another-crypto-ponzi-scheme-collapses-davorcoin-caught-defrauding-investors.html"}]},"v":1}