# Thodex (2017 – 2021)

- URL: https://girisimcikafasi.com/en/startup-graveyard/thodex/
- Sector: Crypto and blockchain
- Country: Turkey
- Total funding: unknown
- Cause of closure: Regulation and legal issues

## What did it do?

Thodex was a cryptocurrency trading platform founded in Istanbul in 2017 under the name Koineks. In 2020 it renamed itself Thodex and grew rapidly through celebrity-fronted advertising and prize campaigns. Users could trade on the platform with Turkish lira or crypto assets.

## Why did it shut down?

On 20 April 2021 the platform halted trading, citing maintenance, after which users were cut off from their accounts entirely. The company's statement attributed the shutdown to transfer procedures linked to a new partnership, but the site never reopened. An investigation was opened on 22 April, and a red notice was issued for the founder, who was abroad at the time. According to Anadolu Agency, the indictment put the losses at 356 million lira. In 2023 a local court convicted the founder of aggravated fraud, forming a criminal organisation and money laundering; the verdict was overturned on appeal in January 2025 and a retrial began. Özer died in prison in November 2025, before the legal process had reached a final judgment.

## The story

In September 2017, at the age of 23, Faruk Fatih Özer founded a cryptocurrency exchange called Koineks in Şişli, Istanbul, with 400,000 lira of capital. At a time when interest in bitcoin was just taking off in Turkey, the platform let users buy and sell cryptocurrency with Turkish lira. In 2020 the company was renamed Thodex and announced plans to expand into the global market. Its user numbers rose quickly on the back of advertising featuring well-known actors and prize campaigns; according to Hürriyet, the platform reached around 400,000 people.

On the evening of 20 April 2021 Thodex halted trading, citing maintenance work. A statement the next day said the site would be closed for a few working days because of transfer procedures linked to a new partnership. The site never reopened. Following complaints from users, an investigation was opened on 22 April, and a red notice was issued for Özer, who was abroad at the time.

Özer was caught in Albania in August 2022 and extradited to Turkey in April 2023. According to Anadolu Agency, the indictment put the losses at 356 million lira; Bloomberg HT reported that the indictment named 2,027 complainants. In September 2023 the Anadolu 9th High Criminal Court sentenced Özer, along with Güven Özer and Serap Özer, to more than 11,196 years in prison each on charges of aggravated fraud, forming a criminal organisation and laundering the proceeds of crime. In January 2025 the appeals court overturned the verdict and the case returned to the local court for retrial; the judgment did not become final.

While the retrial was under way, Özer was found dead in prison in Tekirdağ on 1 November 2025; according to Anadolu Agency, an investigation into his death was opened. According to the sources, there is no final conviction against Özer. The Thodex case remains one of the most striking examples of how large crypto exchanges in Turkey could grow without licensing or independent oversight. That same year, payments with crypto assets were banned and the sector was brought step by step under regulation.

## Lessons

- If you hold users' money, open your reserves to independent audit; trust is not built through advertising.
- A financial product that grows without a licence or oversight remains dependent on one person's decisions.
- Campaigns with famous faces bring in users, but they are no guarantee for the money entrusted to you.

## Sources

- [Verdict in the fraud case against Thodex founder Faruk Fatih Özer (in Turkish)](https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/gundem/thodexin-kurucusu-faruk-fatih-ozerin-dolandiricilik-davasinda-karar/2986295)
- [Thodex founder Özer sentenced to 11,196 years in prison (in Turkish)](https://www.bloomberght.com/thodexin-kurucusu-ozere-11-bin-196-yil-hapis-cezasi-2337989)
- [Appeals court rules in the fraud case against Thodex founder Faruk Fatih Özer (in Turkish)](https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/gundem/istinaf-thodexin-kurucusu-faruk-fatih-ozerin-dolandiricilik-davasinda-kararini-verdi/3467025)
- [Thodex founder Faruk Fatih Özer found dead in prison (in Turkish)](https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/gundem/thodexin-kurucusu-faruk-fatih-ozer-cezaevinde-olu-bulundu/3732500)
- [The company he founded at 23 became his downfall (in Turkish)](https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/23-yasinda-kurdugu-sirket-sonu-oldu-43005120)
- [From celebrity ads to fraud allegations: the Thodex story (in Turkish)](https://webrazzi.com/2021/04/22/unlulerle-reklamlardan-dolandiricilik-iddiasina-uzanan-hikaye-thodex/)
- [Thodex](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thodex)