Back when things looked stable on the surface, JPMorgan was already raising alarms about Tricolor's accounting practices. The banking giant had flagged serious concerns about the firm's financial records—issues that wouldn't fully unravel until the eventual collapse came down the line.

It's a classic tale in the crypto world: institutional scrutiny arrives first, then everything falls apart. JPMorgan's early skepticism turned out to be right on the money. Their accountants spotted inconsistencies that suggested deeper problems beneath the glossy exterior.

The timeline is instructive. A year separated the initial warning from the actual implosion, yet by then it was already too late for many investors caught in the fallout. The case raises hard questions about due diligence, transparency standards, and why red flags from major financial institutions don't always trigger immediate market corrections.

For traders and analysts, this serves as a reminder: when established players like JPMorgan start questioning numbers, it's worth paying attention. The gap between detection and collapse can be deceptively long.