While the crypto market's recent bull run has put more money in the pockets of industry players, ol' Saint Nick is getting ready to put coal in some stockings.
From controversial founders to fraudsters, many key figures in crypto have died in 2018. They landed themselves on Santa's “naughty record” in 2024.
Here they are. Decrypt's He picked the seven villains in crypto this year:
Hawkeye Girl (Hayley Welch)
Viral internet star Hayley Welch, aka the “Hawk Tuah” girl, catapulted into shitcoin superstardom earlier this month when she announced the launch of the HAWK meme coin.
But Welch's crypto first went sideways shortly after HAWK launched, with crypto investors pointing out that it had a token sale. All the main signs of internal fraud.
Hawkeye traders point out that Welch's group will own 80-90% of the HAWK supply on launch day, allowing them to control the token's price.
Welch's HAWK token had a market cap of $490 million shortly after its launch in the first week of December. However, the price quickly fell to less than 5% of its initial price within a few hours of its launch.
She sued her business partners over the collapse of a law firm and took a two-week hiatus from social media shortly after – to say she was working with the lawyers and was not responsible for the trouble.
Ryan Selkis
Messari founder Ryan Selkis It sparked controversy and drama In the crypto community in 2024.
From inciting his political opponents to igniting another US Civil War, Selkies' comments heading into the 2024 US presidential election were flying over other people's efforts to develop a better public image for the digital assets industry.
His spicy comments on X (formerly known as Twitter) led to his exit from Masari, but he was taking too much heat from his colleagues. Selkies ultimately got what he wanted with Donald Trump's re-election, but some of his tactics to encourage that change landed him on this year's Santa's naughty list.
Jonathan and Tanner Adam
Jonathan and Tanner Adam may not be household names, but their alleged crimes are on Santa's radar and the SEC.
The pair were summoned. He led a crypto-based Ponzi scheme. bilked more than 80 investors out of $60 million, court documents show. Under the scheme, investors are told that their money will be put into a loan pool that provides “flash loans” to complete arbitrage trades identified by special trading bots.
However, the SEC alleges that the loan pool never existed as disclosed to investors. Instead, the two million are said to have been used to fund their lavish lifestyle, spending nearly half a million dollars alone on various luxury cars.
Gary Gensler
It's Gary Gensler. The most corrupt SEC chairman He led the charge of the regulatory agency on digital assets During the Biden administration.
Under Gensler, the SEC followed suitRegulation-by-enforcement” model To fuel an unprecedented SEC lawsuit against major digital asset companies in the volatile crypto industry. Coinbase, KrakenAnd Binance.US.
In the year In 2023, the SEC brought a total of 46 cryptocurrency-related enforcement actions, a 53% increase from 2022. basis to Cornerstone Research. This is the agency's highest record since 2013. But much of it may be for naught when Gensler announced in January that he plans to step down when Trump takes office. Most fans of the crypto industry will not be sad to see him go.
Eli Regalado
Pastor Eli Regalado defrauded worshipers at his Denver-based church out of more than $3 million by selling INDXCoin tokens, according to the Colorado Securities and Exchange Commission. However, the pastor denies that he is entirely to blame for the scheme. His reason: And the Lord did it.
Whether God whispered in his ear or not, one thing is clear: Regalado was living the high life on the money of his followers. According to an indictment filed earlier this year by the Colorado Securities Commissioner, the pastor bought luxury digs and other items with ill-gotten gains from the sale of INDXCoin.
Craig Wright
They say impersonation is the real trick, but in the case of Craig Wright and claiming to be the creator of Bitcoin, it's also a crime.
At the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA) with Craig Wright, it was Wright. He was found guilty in March Lying about being called Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto. The UK court also ruled that there is “overwhelming” evidence that points to Wright Creative documents and lies on the stand During the trial. Wright's saga has played out over the years, but the results earned him a spot on this year's Santa's Naughty List.
Sahil Arora
Crypto influencer and celebrity advocate Sahil Arora has fallen out of investors' — and Santa's — good graces in 2024.
This is because the crypto celebrity advertiser allegedly made between 2 million and 30 million dollars. The relationship with various celebrity meme coin projectsAccording to chain analysis by blockchain sleuth ZachXBT and crypto data organization Bubble maps.
(Arora He denied that he had committed any crime He did a special interview with Decrypt in May)
So how did Arora get rich? Well, it's not exactly clear, but several celebrities and investors have something to say on the matter.
In May, Caitlyn Jenner said Aurora “cheated” by running away with the ‘big time' JENNER meme coin revenue It helped get it started.
R&B singer Jason Derulo He followed up with his own meme coin and similar accusations against Aurora, which Aurora later claimed was not what it seemed to be. He said the controversy was “fabricated” and all “part of the script”.
As if that double celebrity drama wasn't enough, Arora is sued for collecting up to $380,000 in pre-sales from an Iggy Azalea-themed meme coin project launched on Pamp.fun earlier this year. Investors in the project filed suit shortly after the presale. No signals were received. They were promised. Meanwhile, at least some funds have been moved from pre-sale wallets, according to SolScan data. He showed..
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