Let me be absolutely clear: TetherBot.io is not a DeFi project. It is not decentralised, it is not autonomous, and it certainly is not a legitimate financial tool.
What it is, in reality, is a centralised, referral-based, AI-flavoured Ponzi scheme wrapped in a pretty website — and thanks to YouTuber Steve Colwill, also known as Digital Degen, it’s been creeping through Telegram groups under a veil of secrecy.
Let’s start with how we uncovered this. Steve Colwill published a secret video to his Telegram followers, admitting that TetherBot bans all social media promotion. He said it outright:
“You’re not supposed to be sharing this project… You will get your account banned eventually.”
He knew it, said it, and still promoted it. He claimed the secrecy meant it must be legitimate — because apparently, in Steve’s world, the less you know, the more trustworthy it is.
We decided to test it. We registered under Steve’s referral link and reported him to TetherBot for violating their gag-order policy. What happened? Our account got terminated — not his. That tells you everything you need to know about the kind of operation TetherBot is running. They don’t protect users; they protect promoters.
Now let’s break down the 30+ red flags that prove beyond any doubt that TetherBot is a scam:
1. Fake reCAPTCHA Screen – The site displays a “verifying you’re not a robot” screen that mimics Google’s security prompt but isn’t real. It’s pure theatre.
2. Unrealistic Returns – TetherBot promises up to 1.25% daily, six days a week — over 30% monthly. That’s mathematically unsustainable. No real platform generates that kind of return, especially from USDT, a stablecoin with no price volatility.
3. Capital Lock-In – Your funds are locked for 10 days and you can only withdraw every 48 hours. These are artificial delays designed to stall panic and restrict mass exits.
4. No Team, No Company, No Jurisdiction – There is no legal entity, no business address, no CEO, no incorporation details. Just an email: [email protected]. That’s not a business. That’s an exit scam waiting to happen.
5. Misleading Claims of Security – The site says, “You can trust that your funds are 100% secure with us.” With no insurance, no third-party custody, no audits — that’s a lie.
6. Referral-Based Access – You can’t sign up without a referral link. That’s not how software services work — that’s how MLM pyramids operate.
7. Internal Wallet = No Transparency – Funds are credited to your TetherBot “wallet,” but there’s no blockchain view, no smart contract, no proof of reserves. You’re watching numbers on a screen — they could vanish at any time.
8. False DeFi Label – This isn’t DeFi. Real DeFi is:
- On-chain
- Permissionless
- Transparent
- Auditable
- Community-governed
TetherBot is:
- Centralised
- Hidden
- Controlled by anonymous admins
- Filled with vague AI buzzwords
9. Fake Legal Clauses – Their Terms & Conditions throw around phrases like “MiCA” and “ICC Arbitration” to sound regulated. They’re not. There’s no country, no compliance, and no accountability. These are just big words meant to confuse you.
10. Promotion Gag Order – Buried in both the Privacy Policy and on-page warnings, they threaten to permanently delete your account and funds if you talk about TetherBot online. That’s not privacy — that’s censorship.
11. Contradictions About Fees – The homepage says “zero fees,” while the T&Cs say “non-refundable fees apply.” Which is it? This isn’t a misunderstanding — it’s deliberate manipulation.
12. Centralised Control of All Funds – There is no smart contract, no cold wallet, and no transparency. The admins can disappear with every deposit in seconds, and you’d have no legal recourse.
13. Telegram-Only Marketing – Steve Colwill promotes this in Telegram only — not YouTube — because he knows it’s against their rules. He knows the platform itself threatens users for speaking out, and he still pushes it to his followers.
14. Vague AI and ML Claims – The site talks about “next-gen machine learning” and “AI-powered SaaS,” but offers no documentation, no demo, and no verification. Just filler jargon to create false legitimacy.
15. Zero Regulation – TetherBot operates entirely outside of financial oversight. It is not registered with any securities regulator, crypto authority, or business bureau.
16. Retaliation Against Whistleblowers – We reported Steve’s promotion to TetherBot. Instead of punishing the rule-breaker, they punished us. That means they’re not running a business — they’re running a club. A secretive, authoritarian one.
17. Secret Video Promotion – Steve Colwill filmed a walkthrough of the platform only for his Telegram group, specifically saying he wouldn’t share it on YouTube because it could get accounts banned.
18. Profit Display Without Proof – Steve shows his “earnings dashboard” in the video, but there’s no way to verify any of it is real or based on actual trades.
19. No Smart Contract – There is no verifiable smart contract executing trades or distributing returns. Everything is handled off-chain in a black box.
20. No GitHub or Source Code – No project documentation or codebase is available. That’s the opposite of how DeFi works.
21. Centralised Referral Commission Model – Commissions are paid by the platform and tracked centrally — there’s no on-chain mechanism. This creates a vulnerable, exploitable structure.
22. Mandatory Crypto-Only Payments – Deposits are accepted only in BTC, USDT, and USDC — meaning no chargebacks, no accountability, no transparency.
23. High Minimum Withdrawal – A $50 minimum withdrawal prevents users from testing the system with micro-deposits, forcing larger financial risk.
24. No Audit or Third-Party Security Review – There’s no record of any audit, bug bounty, or external verification.
25. No Whitepaper or Roadmap – TetherBot provides no technical breakdown of how its AI works or how it generates returns.
26. Speculative Language – Steve himself says “I believe this could go the distance,” and “it reminds me of 2x Boost.” That’s not due diligence — that’s gambling.
27. Psychological Manipulation – The marketing language targets beginners who “don’t want to learn how to trade” and want “stable passive income.”
28. Confession of Rugs – Steve admits: “I acknowledge these all rug at some point.” He knows the project will likely collapse but still promotes it.
29. No Legal Entity Listed in T&Cs – The Terms and Conditions reference global jurisdictions but fail to name a single accountable business.
30. Data Collection Without Oversight – TetherBot collects name, email, phone, IP address, and wallet info — with no DPO, compliance officer, or legal framework.
31. Business Transfer Clause – They admit they may sell your data in the event of a platform sale or acquisition.
32. Non-Refundable Fees Despite Zero-Fee Claims – Multiple pages contradict each other about platform costs.
33. Hollow Disclaimers – They say “TetherBot is provided as-is” to avoid liability while simultaneously claiming users’ funds are “100% secure.”
34. Anonymous Ownership – There is no known founder, no corporate footprint, and no team behind the platform.
35. Edinburgh Decentralisation Index (EDI) Criteria Not Met – As one commenter noted, TetherBot fails to meet any decentralisation standards.
36. Promoted by Known Risk-Taker – Steve Colwill, who claims he “shares gambling opportunities,” is the primary promoter. That’s not transparency — that’s preloaded justification for failure.
Final Thoughts
If you’re reading this thinking “Maybe I’ll just try it with $100” — stop. TetherBot isn’t an experiment. It’s a trap. You’re not trading; you’re feeding a machine that runs on new deposits and false promises.
And Steve Colwill — whether he calls it gambling, entertainment, or passive income — is promoting it with full knowledge that it will rug. He just hopes you’ll lose money after he’s already taken his cut.
Don’t fund the next rug. Don’t trust anonymous wallets. And don’t believe someone who says, “I’m not putting this on YouTube because it’s too good.”
That’s not a vote of confidence — that’s a confession.
UPDATE: TetherBot Collapsed — Exit Scam Confirmed (April 27, 2025)
The inevitable has happened. As of April 27th, 2025, the TetherBot.io website is officially offline and no longer resolves. All pending withdrawal requests were left in limbo, and the platform vanished with users’ funds — confirming a full-blown exit scam.
User Brian shared that after compounding earnings at 1.25% daily and reaching $150, his withdrawal attempt resulted in a locked account and zero payout. This is exactly the behaviour we warned about — fake dashboards, fake earnings, and blocked withdrawals once you try to exit.
Another user, SaltGrains, confirmed the platform went dark over the weekend and described what we all knew was coming: “All the attempted withdrawals never left pending and it ended there with everyone robbed.”
To everyone affected — you are not alone. Document what you can, save your records, and report the incident to your local financial regulator. And please, share this article to help prevent the next wave of victims from being deceived by the next AI-flavoured crypto scam.
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