The Chinese bike-sharing startup ofo denied the media report claiming that it used a cryptocurrency known as GSE( Global Sharing Economy) for fund raising.

Local news outlet Bianews reported on Tuesday that ofo used GSE tokens for a new round of financing in July, one month after the token got listed on crypto exchange Gate.io and a token fund, a digital assets investment platform,subscribed for a a share of GSE tokens which worth 600ETH, citing a source with knowledge of the matter.

Besides, a senior official at the Token Fund disclosed that this round of ofo funding was a swindle  since the company was running out of money and they used this scheme to scam people for money without giving back tokens as promised.

The bike-sharing behemoth, however, refuted the rumor in a statement released on its Weibo account on Tuesday, saying that the media reports are outright untrue, and the new round of financing ofo completed using GSE is ‘completely non-exsistent’. GSE Network, the company behind the GSE token is just a marketing partner for ofo.

Founded in Singapore in January, GSE Network is dedicated to providing a distributed infrastructure for service providers and users in the sharing economy which can create trustworthy relationships at zero cost.

GSE Network responded that “It’s not true that ofo got the seed funding through GSE, and it’s a groundless accusation that ofo staff go out to raise fund for GSE. GSE Network’s seed funding was completed earlier this year, and we are well-funded”.

Besides, regarding the rumor that “many team members of GSE Netork are ofo veterans, and many ofo employees have bought GSE tokens”, GSE said the two firms are ecosystem partners, and they will continue to explore blockchain applications together.

In fact,  the company behind a sea of signature yellow bikes has teamed up with GSE in March to launch a rewards system in Singapore where users can receive GSE token rewards for riding. And ofo has replicated the “Ride and Earn” model in Japan.

Ofo has established a blockchain-focused research institute in May to find solutions to problems in bike-sharing operation such as bike deployment, parking and maintenance and to build smart urban transportation globally. Further, Dai Wei, founder and CEO of ofo, seems a crypto enthusiasts who is reportedly invested in TRON and other cryptocurrencies.