Jay Chou's statement on social media, "If you don't show up soon, you're done for," not only announced the rupture of a decade-long friendship but also unveiled a glimpse into the risks of cryptocurrency asset custody.
"Has anyone seen this magician who has also made himself disappear? Please let me know," Jay Chou posted a missing person update on Instagram, publicly calling out his longtime friend, magician Cai Weize. "You think I'm not a magician? If you don't show up soon, you're done for."
This dispute, spanning both the entertainment and cryptocurrency circles, involves an amount exceeding hundreds of millions of New Taiwan Dollars (approximately 23.21 million RMB), revealing a Bitcoin investment scandal between Jay Chou and his friend of nearly ten years, Cai Weize.
01 Event Review: The Dramatic Shift from Close Friends to "Creditor"
The relationship between Jay Chou and Cai Weize is far from that of ordinary business partners. Cai Weize is a well-known magician in Taiwan, who has appeared on "America's Got Talent," attracting international attention with his creative magic. He and Jay Chou bonded over their shared love for magic, serving as a regular guest on "Travel with Jay Chou" and participating in Jay Chou's tours multiple times, with a relationship as close as "brothers." Jay Chou has publicly referred to him as "the person who understands me best in the magic world."
In 2024, this trust transformed into a concrete collaboration—Cai Weize managed Bitcoin investments for Jay Chou, with amounts reaching hundreds of millions of New Taiwan Dollars. Jay Chou transferred funds, which Cai Weize used to open an account in his name on a cryptocurrency exchange for trading.
The turning point came in early 2025. Cai Weize suddenly informed Jay Chou that the Bitcoin account was "locked due to technical issues" and could not be withdrawn, claiming he was in communication with the exchange to unlock it and requested a grace period, citing "multiple people chasing debts."
Out of years of friendship, Jay Chou chose to trust him and gave him time to resolve the issue. However, the problem remained unresolved, and as the agreed repayment deadline approached, Cai Weize gradually shifted from vague excuses to complete disappearance.
Even more surprising was that the repayment promissory note he had issued turned out to be a "bad check," with the bank responding that "insufficient funds" were available, which completely exhausted Jay Chou's patience.
02 Risks Highlighted: Security Vulnerabilities and Custody Traps in Cryptocurrency Assets
Jay Chou's experience is not an isolated case but a common dilemma faced by celebrities and ordinary investors in the cryptocurrency market.
● The legal risks of virtual currency custody mainly stem from the incomplete regulatory framework, and the custody behavior between individuals easily touches on compliance boundaries. According to the regulatory blueprint planned by Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), virtual asset service providers (VASP) are gradually shifting from a "registration system" to a stricter "licensing system." According to the draft, in the future, businesses wishing to engage in trading virtual assets like Bitcoin must obtain a license from the FSC; otherwise, they may face up to 7 years of criminal liability for unauthorized trading.
● The trading of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin is irreversible and entirely relies on private key control. Once the private key or account permissions are in the hands of others, the assets will be completely out of the actual owner's control.
● This is a common warning in the cryptocurrency world: "Not your keys, not your coins." Compared to traditional financial products like stocks and funds, there are almost no unified rules governing the custody of cryptocurrencies. Once a dispute arises, investors face difficulties in "evidence collection, qualification, and enforcement" when seeking legal recourse.
● Jay Chou is not the only celebrity to encounter setbacks in the cryptocurrency market. A review of recent cases reveals a clear trajectory of "celebrity cryptocurrency investment traps." Jay Chou's own PhantaBear NFT project once set a record by selling 10,000 units in 40 minutes, generating over 62 million RMB. However, this project plummeted shortly after a brief surge in the secondary market, with the floor price dropping by 96.6% from its peak within six months, leading to near-zero liquidity.
● The experience of Taiwan's "Brother Ma Ji," Huang Licheng, is even more tumultuous. He operated Ethereum and other assets on the Hyperliquid platform, achieving paper profits of up to 44.5 million USD in just over 20 days, earning the title of "cryptocurrency legend." However, due to market fluctuations, his leveraged Ethereum position was forcibly liquidated, resulting in not only the loss of all profits but also an additional loss of 10 million USD, with total losses reaching 54.5 million USD.
03 Safety Warning: Insights on Cryptocurrency Asset Protection from the Jay Chou Incident
The dispute between Jay Chou and Cai Weize reveals multiple risks in cryptocurrency investment, particularly the hidden dangers in asset custody and familiar management.
The anonymity and cross-border nature of cryptocurrency assets make it extremely difficult to recover assets in practice. As of the time of writing, Cai Weize remains uncontactable, while Jay Chou has initiated legal proceedings through his lawyer. How this "magic" worth over hundreds of millions will ultimately conclude is closely watched by the entire cryptocurrency community.
From the Jay Chou incident, the following key risk points and lessons can be extracted:
Risk Dimension
Specific Manifestation
Case Revelation
Legal Risk
Virtual currency transactions are not legally protected, and custody agreements may be invalid
Jay Chou and Cai Weize only had a verbal agreement, with no formal contract
Technical Risk
Private key control equals asset control; transactions are irreversible
Cai Weize controlled the account's private key, making it difficult for Jay Chou to recover assets
Trust Risk
Familiar custody lacks strict risk control, with emotions replacing professional assessments
A decade of friendship cannot guarantee the safety of funds
Operational Risk
Account locking, disappearance, and other moral hazards
Cai Weize delayed with the excuse of "account being locked" and ultimately disappeared
Source: AiCoin Compilation
For ordinary investors, there are many lessons to be learned from the Jay Chou incident:
● Core asset control must be in your own hands. No matter who the other party is, even if they are a longtime friend, the control of core assets must be held by oneself.
● For cryptocurrency assets, this means private keys must be kept secure to avoid storing assets in wallets controlled by others.
● Eliminate blind trust based on "personal endorsements." Celebrities, like ordinary investors, can easily let their guard down due to "introductions from acquaintances."
However, in the investment field, especially in high-risk markets like cryptocurrency, emotional trust can never replace professional assessment and compliance processes. Even with the closest friends, when it comes to large financial transactions, it is essential to "establish agreements before trading," clarifying both parties' rights and obligations, as well as potential risk management mechanisms.
04 Future Outlook: The Path to Cryptocurrency Asset Security
Jay Chou's experience serves as a warning, not only for celebrities but for all participants in the cryptocurrency market. In the world of blockchain, "code is law" is an ironclad rule, and trust cannot replace technical and legal safeguards.
● When "familiar trust" conflicts with the technical rules of blockchain, investors must prioritize security awareness over emotions and interests to avoid becoming victims of similar incidents. The future development of the cryptocurrency industry must achieve fundamental breakthroughs in security, transparency, and regulatory coordination.
● For ordinary investors, multiple security measures should be adopted. For cryptocurrency assets, this means employing multiple security measures: using hardware wallets for cold storage, enabling two-factor authentication, and regularly reviewing account authorizations.
● From a regulatory perspective, as the cryptocurrency market continues to develop, the regulatory framework is also gradually improving. Regulatory mechanisms represented by the U.S. GENIUS Act bring high certainty to the market, significantly enhancing investor confidence.
Clear policies and increasing institutional demand for cryptocurrency and AI assets are jointly shaping a new landscape for the top ten cryptocurrencies by market capitalization in 2025.
This cross-industry scandal, from Spring Festival Gala partners to potential courtroom adversaries, from a 100 million New Taiwan Dollar investment to a 34 million refund loss, ultimately sees Jay Chou and Cai Weize's decade-long friendship reaching an irretrievable end amid the volatility of cryptocurrency and the test of human nature.
Trust in the cryptocurrency world must be based on technology; in the realm of blockchain, "code is law" is an ironclad rule, and trust cannot replace technical and legal safeguards.
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