SEC Charges BitClout Blockchain Founder with Alleged Crypto Fraud, Worth a Fantastic Amount

Todaysgist.com, Jakarta – The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Nader Al-Naji, the founder of blockchain protocol BitClout, with crypto asset fraud involving more than USD 257 million or equivalent to IDR 4.1 trillion (assuming an exchange rate of IDR 16,331 per US dollar) obtained through the offering and sale of unregistered BTCLT tokens.

As reported by Coinmarketcap, Thursday (1/8/2024), according to the SEC complaint filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, Al-Naji falsely told investors that proceeds from the token sale would not be used to compensate him or other BitClout employees.

Instead, he allegedly spent more than $7 million of investors’ funds on personal expenses, including rent payments on a Beverly Hills mansion and large cash gifts to family members.

Al-Naji has built a track record of attracting significant venture capital investment. His previous project, Basis, raised over $133 million from prestigious investors including Bain Capital Ventures, Google Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, and Lightspeed.

This funding history, along with support from prominent individual investors such as Stan Druckenmiller and Kevin Warsh, likely contributed to the credibility and early support for the BitClout project, which later evolved into DeSo (Decentralized Social).

The SEC accused Al-Naji of adopting the pseudonym “Diamondhands” and portraying BitClout as a decentralized project with no company behind it, just a coin and code, to avoid regulatory scrutiny.

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