Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1545896
2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 19JULY 2026 NEWS CONTINUES FROM PAGE 1 DistributeX operates four phys- ical outlets in Ħamrun, Mosta, Birkirkara and Tarxien, which awre labelled as "community as- sociation". Their purpose is clear but what they are selling is ob- scure. Branding suggests a commu- nity meeting place but a person attracted to the opportunity, who spoke with MaltaToday on con- dition of anonymity, described them more like recruitment cen- tres. "The person inside the shop was giving me information about DistributeX operations and the reward system, effectively trying to hook me up with the platform," they said. "However, when I asked technical details about the crypto- currencies I would be clicking on and whether this meant I would be investing in them, the person could not answer and simply re- peated the same marketing man- tra." Trying to find the ultimate ben- eficiary owner of DistributeX in Malta proved futile. There is no registered Maltese company with such a name and none of the little available online literature provides infor- mation about who owns the platform. Yet, on 28 June, Dis- tributeX held what it de- scribed as its "3rd official employee meeting" at the St Agatha Theatre in Ra- bat, which brought togeth- er "official members" and their friends, whom they were "warmly welcome to invite". The event, documented in videos shared on Tik- Tok, saw a packed hall with many of those present giv- ing testimonials on how they ended their financial hardship after enrolling with DistributeX. The event was char- acterised by a large number of for- eigners, something that industry sources familiar with digital cryp- to scams consider to be a red flag. "Scams frequently target foreign individuals because they are in unfamiliar environments and of- ten isolated, making them highly vulnerable to manipulation," the sources said. The model combines tiered membership levels, increasing fi- nancial commitments and refer- ral commissions, while offering little explanation of how the un- derlying business generates the returns promised to participants. DistributeX presents itself as a cryptocurrency marketing com- pany connecting blockchain pro- jects with online communities. But a deeper look reveals a more sinister pattern. A dodgy website The company maintains a professional-looking website describing itself as a market- ing platform for cryptocurrency projects, including decentralised finance protocols, NFT market- places and blockchain business- es. Yet, much of the website con- sists of single-page navigation, generic testimonials and client success stories that could not be independently verified. Several projects and individuals featured on the site have little or no iden- tifiable online presence beyond the website itself. For industry experts this type of webpage profile raises a red flag as does the company's limited so- cial media presence. Indeed, the platform has no official social media profile on Facebook, while only a handful of DistributeX profiles exist on Instagram. The active profiles, including the account 'distrib- utex.mt' which seems to be tar- geting Maltese recruits have a handful or no posts at all. Some profiles have links to the original website. The only DistributeX pres- ence in Malta on Facebook is a 2 January 2026 post by Puttinu Cares following a donation from the entity. DistributeX was not tagged in the post. Recruiters, in their personal ca- pacity on their personal profiles, promote the entity, but no offi- cial channels seem to exist. For those who choose to enrol, money deposits and tasks have to be carried out through the DistributeX app. But even here experts, speaking to MaltaToday noted a serious flaw. The Dis- tributeX app can be downloaded through Google Play on Android devices, but is not available on the Apple App Store. "This is another red flag since Apple has more rigorous checks for apps on its devices," the experts said. Nonetheless, the people behind DistributeX found a workaround for these issues by providing re- cruits with a website version of the app. The promise of quick riches The operation promoted in Malta centres on the Distrib- uteX mobile application. New members are required to join through an existing participant's referral code before depositing USDT, a cryptocurrency pegged to the US dollar. Refunds are available only after 180 days and subject to partici- pants completing every day's as- signed tasks. Membership is divided into 10 levels, with higher tiers requir- ing increasingly larger deposits in exchange for higher adver- tised daily returns. Level 1 entry is granted against a deposit of around €140, promising monthly incomes of €150 and an annual salary of around €1,800. The higher the level, the larger the deposit and the higher the promised return. For those seeking maximum income, level 10 requires an in- itial deposit of around €21,000, promising monthly earnings of around €25,200 and an annual income of a whopping €302,400. Participants are instructed to complete a fixed number of daily sharing tasks by selecting cryp- tocurrencies within the appli- cation that are flagged as green and pressing a 'Share Currency' button. No clear explanation is provid- ed as to how repeatedly pressing these buttons generates com- mercial value or revenue suffi- cient to sustain the advertised lucrative returns. Promotional material displayed inside DistributeX community DistributeX promises easy DistributeX community event Distribute X in Hamrun (Photo: James Banchi/MaltaToday) DistributeX community event poster