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Fentanyl-Linked Chinese Network Ran Fake 'Zksync.jp' Token Scam, Nikkei Reports, With Losses Topping $1 Million

6/22/2026

A Chinese criminal network previously connected to fentanyl trafficking has been linked to a cryptocurrency fraud operation run out of Japan, Nikkei reported.

The group circulated a counterfeit token under the name "zksync.jp" — crafted to imitate the legitimate ZkSync blockchain protocol — and caused losses exceeding $1 million among crypto users worldwide.

What a Scam Token Is and How This One Worked A scam token is a digital asset created specifically to deceive — it borrows the name, branding, or domain of a recognized project to convince buyers they are purchasing something real.

In this case, the fraudulent token used "zksync.jp," a name closely echoing ZkSync, a well-known Ethereum scaling protocol that processes transactions using zero-knowledge cryptography.

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