Corporate Fraud, that's what it's being called on social media.

Patricia encountered its first wave of trouble in 2022 when the company's management reported a security breach within its trading app, resulting in a substantial loss of approximately $2 million. The firm alleged that its Bitcoin and Naira assets had been compromised due to this breach. And in response, Patricia promptly suspended withdrawals, leaving customers unable to access their funds from the trading platform to date.

This development has raised a series of pressing questions among their user base.

"When would we receive our money?"

"Is there any hope of recovering our money?"

"Or is Patricia another scam?"

These questions, among numerous others, have flooded the internet, leaving users in a perpetual state of concern. Those with unrecovered assets struggle to come to terms with the possibility of losing all their money. Meanwhile, others who didn't use the app have turned into financial advisors, explaining to Nigerians about the importance of conducting comprehensive research before placing trust in new tech start-ups.

Falling victim to scams is a common experience for Nigerians. It's rare to find someone in Nigeria who hasn't encountered a scam in some form. This is why people exercised caution when Patricia emerged as a Nigerian cryptocurrency trading platform. However, they managed to earn the trust of Nigerians by sponsoring the nation's largest reality TV show, Big Brother Naija. This endorsement led people to believe that they were here to stay.

Yet, just two days ago, a video emerged on the X app, revealing that all Patricia's offices had been vacated and the place cleared out. The reporter said their security personnel mentioned that all of their employees had been absent for several weeks. And from the video, it was evident that the place has been deserted for sometime now.

This recent development has left many wondering: Could this be the end of Patricia, the once-prominent crypto exchange platform?

Nigeria's cryptocurrency space has seen a surge in the number of platforms. However, given the consistent cycle of success and failure in many of these ventures, it's apparent that most of these entities still lack a firm understanding of effective business operations.

Usually, Web 3-based startups face challenges in achieving profitability and generating revenue. One might question whether this was a factor in Patricia's struggles. However, it seems otherwise. While it's clear that many Web 3 businesses falter due to a lack of a well-defined profitability strategy, this doesn't appear to be the main issue with Patricia.

Patricia seemed to have a problem managing the assets of customers entrusted in its care. Although, it's true that it had been suffering from security breaches before the last breach that led to this whole fiasco but the constant attacks on its security system is also a reflection of poor internal control structure and management system.

Patricia as a business was thriving, but it needed a better management. And mismanagement has played a major role in the downfall of many Web 3-based businesses. From this recurrence in the Web 3 space, we can conclude that a business success is not only by its technology, use cases, or services provided but essentially, by how well it is being managed.

Incidents like this will continue to damage the crypto industry in Nigeria, eroding the trust of potential users. For every step forward the crypto industry takes, events like these set it ten steps back.

Founders must acknowledge the significance of sound management practices. CEOs and COOs should learn to control financial recklessness, and every Web 3 startups should avoid overspending on expenses.

And rather than repeatedly launching Web 3-based businesses that fail despite offering excellent services, the focus should shift towards implementing clear strategies that position these businesses for long-term success.

Enough with the Trial-and-Error approach- people are losing money.