FTRCRP // SIGNALS — CryptoEasily Cloud Mining Scheme

Published on ITavisen.no — Norwegian Technology News

1. Executive Summary

This investigation documents a cryptocurrency investment scam operating under the name "CryptoEasily" that has been distributed through ITavisen.no, a Norwegian technology news publication reaching up to 493,000 monthly readers. The scheme exhibits classic Ponzi structure characteristics, makes demonstrably false regulatory claims, and promises mathematically impossible returns. This report provides evidence, legal analysis under Norwegian law, and an open invitation for ITavisen to respond.

2. The Scheme

2.1 Claimed Returns

CryptoEasily advertises "mining contracts" with guaranteed fixed returns:

Contract	Investment	Cycle	Claimed Return
Entry	$100	2 days	$108 (8%)
Stable	$1,000	7 days	$1,094.50 (9.45%)
Professional	$4,500	16 days	$5,616 (24.8%)
Premium	$15,000	25 days	$22,050 (47%)

Annualized, these returns range from 493% to 1,460% APY using simple interest calculations (Entry: 1,460% APY; Stable: 493% APY; Professional: 566% APY; Premium: 686% APY). Legitimate cryptocurrency mining cannot guarantee fixed returns — profitability depends on hardware, electricity costs, network difficulty, and volatile market prices.

The DolphinsTalk article goes further, claiming users can "easily earn $8,000 a day" and quoting a fake testimonial: "Lucas, an engineer from São Paulo: 'After learning about the process through free mining, I joined a professional contract. Now I earn an average of $3,000 to $8,000 per day.'" [13] This is mathematically absurd — $8,000/day equals $2.92 million annually from a $4,500 investment.

3. Verification of Regulatory Claims

The ITavisen articles state: "CryptoEasily er en skybasert plattform for kryptovalutautvinning lisensiert av UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Plattformen ble grunnlagt i 2016 og har hovedkontor i London, Storbritannia. Den revideres årlig av PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) og tilbyr forsikring av digitale eiendeler gjennom Lloyd's of London." [1]

The DolphinsTalk article echoes: "CryptoEasily is a UK-licensed cloud-based cryptocurrency mining platform. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in London, UK." [13]

Claims made across both platforms:

• Licensed by UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
• Founded in 2016 with headquarters in London
• Annually audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
• Digital asset insurance through Lloyd's of London
• Security by McAfee® and Cloudflare® [13]

3.1 FCA Registration — FALSE

No entity named "CryptoEasily" appears in the FCA's public cryptoasset register at register.fca.org.uk. Since 2020, the FCA has received 359 registration applications and approved only 44. [2] Operating an unregistered crypto exchange while claiming FCA licensing is a criminal offence in the UK, punishable by up to two years imprisonment and unlimited fines. [3]

3.2 Lloyd's of London Insurance — FALSE

As of February 2022, Evertas was the only cryptocurrency insurance company backed by Lloyd's of London as a coverholder. Their website states: "Evertas is the only cryptoasset insurer selected by Lloyd's of London as a listed coverholder." [4][5] A second Lloyd's coverholder for crypto insurance, AnchorWatch, was approved in November 2024. [14] CryptoEasily has no documented relationship with either Evertas or Lloyd's.

3.3 PwC Annual Audits — UNVERIFIABLE

No public records exist of PwC auditing CryptoEasily.

3.4 Domain Age Discrepancy

CryptoEasily claims founding in 2016, but WHOIS records indicate cryptoeasily.com was registered approximately 7 years ago (2017-2018).

4. Distribution Pattern — Evidence of Coordinated Campaign

4.1 ITavisen.no (Norway)

1. December 12, 2025: "Siste Bitcoin-hete: BTC-innehavere tjener enkelt over $10 000 per måned gjennom CryptoEasily" [1]
2. December 14, 2025: "Bitcoin-prisnyheter: BTC-innehavere tjener enkelt over $10 000 per måned på CryptoEasily-plattformen" [6]

4.2 DolphinsTalk.com (USA — Miami Dolphins Fan Site)

December 8, 2025: "BTC and ETH rebound strongly! CryptoEasily launches free mining service: ordinary people can easily earn $8,000 a day." [13]

Published under the "Offseason" category by "Amanda Holiday" — a Miami Dolphins fan site has no editorial reason to publish cryptocurrency mining content. This demonstrates the scam operators are paying for placement on any site that will accept their content, regardless of topical relevance.

4.3 Additional Syndication

Identical content has been identified on TheCryptoUpdates, Gerweck.net (wrestling news), and Financial-News.co.uk. The pattern is clear: this is a coordinated paid placement campaign exploiting sites with lax editorial standards.

5. Established Scam Characteristics

1. Guaranteed Fixed Returns: Impossible in legitimate mining.
2. Ponzi Structure: Tiered investments ($100-$15,000) extract capital; early "profits" paid from new deposits.
3. False Regulatory Claims: Criminal offence in the UK.
4. Manufactured Testimonials: "Lucas from São Paulo" earning $8,000/day is fabricated social proof.
5. Cross-Platform Syndication: Identical content on unrelated sites (sports, wrestling, tech) indicates paid placement.

6. Norwegian Legal Analysis

Note: This is not legal advice. Consult a qualified Norwegian lawyer for formal assessment.

6.1 Markedsføringsloven (Marketing Control Act)

§ 3 — Skjult Reklame (Hidden Advertising): "Markedsføring skal utformes og presenteres slik at den tydelig framstår som markedsføring." [7] If ITavisen received payment without clear disclosure, this is hidden advertising.

§ 7 & § 8 — Villedende Handelspraksis (Misleading Practices): Commercial practices that omit or hide essential information violate § 8. [8] False FCA/Lloyd's/PwC claims are textbook violations.

§ 39 — Medvirkeransvar (Complicity): "Medvirkningsansvaret kan også omfatte andre selskaper som har medvirket til lovbruddene." [9] Publishers distributing misleading marketing can be liable.

6.2 Straffeloven (Penal Code)

Under § 371-372, fraud (bedrageri) carries up to 2 years imprisonment, or 6 years for aggravated fraud. [10] Distribution of fraudulent content with knowledge — particularly for payment — may constitute criminal complicity (medvirkning). [11]

6.3 Finanstilsynet Position

Finanstilsynet has warned that crypto platforms falsely claiming regulation are "very misleading" and has called out this specific practice. [12] Norwegian consumers are being directed to an unregistered foreign investment scheme through domestic media.

7. Ethical Framework — Is This Acceptable Business Practice?

Beyond legal compliance, we must ask: is publishing unverified financial promotions containing demonstrably false regulatory claims an ethical or moral way to conduct business in Norway?

Norwegian Press Ethics (Vær Varsom-plakaten):

• Section 2.6: "Never promise editorial favours in return for advertising." Advertorial content must be clearly distinguished from editorial.
• Section 3.2: "Be critical in choice of sources, and make sure that information provided is correct." FCA registration is verifiable in 30 seconds.

The Evidence Against Legitimacy:

1. FCA claim is verifiably false (register.fca.org.uk)
2. Lloyd's claim is verifiably false (only Evertas and AnchorWatch are Lloyd's crypto coverholders)
3. Returns of 493-1,460% APY are mathematically impossible through mining
4. Same content syndicated to unrelated sites (sports, wrestling) indicates paid spam
5. Testimonials ("Lucas", "Melisa") follow classic scam templates

A technology publication reaching 493,000 Norwegians has a responsibility — moral, ethical, and legal — to verify claims before publishing investment promotions. The FCA registration claim could be checked in under a minute. It wasn't.

8. Open Invitation to ITavisen

9. Recommendations

For Consumers:

• Do not invest in CryptoEasily
• Verify FCA registration at register.fca.org.uk before any UK financial service
• Report suspected fraud to Finanstilsynet and local police

For ITavisen:

• Immediately remove CryptoEasily articles
• Implement verification for financial advertising
• Clearly label all sponsored content per Markedsføringsloven

10. Conclusion

CryptoEasily displays every hallmark of a cryptocurrency investment scam. Its distribution through ITavisen.no lends unwarranted legitimacy to fraudulent content, potentially exposing hundreds of thousands of Norwegian readers to financial harm. The coordinated syndication across ITavisen, DolphinsTalk, and other unrelated platforms demonstrates an organized campaign to manufacture credibility through paid placements. This is not a gray area — the regulatory claims are verifiably false, the returns are mathematically impossible, and the distribution pattern confirms coordinated deception. Norwegian law provides clear remedies. The question is whether they will be applied.

References

[1] ITavisen. "Siste Bitcoin-hete..." Dec 12, 2025. itavisen.no/2025/12/12/siste-bitcoin-hete-btc-innehavere-tjener-enkelt-over-10-000-per-maned-gjennom-cryptoeasily/

[2] CCN. "UK Crypto Register: Full List of FCA-Approved Firms." ccn.com/crypto-register-fca-uk-list-approved-firms/

[3] FCA. "Cryptoassets: How to apply for registration." fca.org.uk/firms/cryptoassets-aml-ctf-regime/registering

[4] GlobeNewswire. "Evertas granted Lloyd's coverholder status." Feb 3, 2022.

[5] Evertas. "The World's First Company Dedicated to Crypto Insurance." evertas.com

[6] ITavisen. "Bitcoin-prisnyheter..." Dec 14, 2025. itavisen.no/2025/12/14/bitcoin-prisnyheter-btc-innehavere-tjener-enkelt-over-10-000-per-maned-pa-cryptoeasily-plattformen/

[7] Lovdata. Markedsføringsloven § 3. lovdata.no/dokument/NL/lov/2009-01-09-2

[8] Forbrukertilsynet. "Forbudet mot villedende utelatelser." forbrukertilsynet.no

[9] Forbrukertilsynet. "Veiledning om merking av reklame i sosiale medier." forbrukertilsynet.no

[10] Lovdata. Straffeloven § 371-372. lovdata.no/lov/2005-05-20-28/§372

[11] Sterk Law. "Criminal Participation in Norwegian Law." advokats.no

[12] Finance Magnates. "Norwegian Financial Regulator Alarms Consumers." Jun 22, 2021.

[13] DolphinsTalk. "BTC and ETH rebound strongly! CryptoEasily..." Dec 8, 2025. dolphinstalk.com/2025/12/btc-and-eth-rebound-strongly-cryptoeasily-launches-free-mining-service-ordinary-people-can-easily-earn-8000-a-day/

[14] BusinessWire. "AnchorWatch Becomes Lloyd's of London Coverholder, Set to Begin Operations in December 2024." Nov 18, 2024. businesswire.com/news/home/20241118360660/en/AnchorWatch-Becomes-Lloyds-of-London-Coverholder-Set-to-Begin-Operations-in-December-2024

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