- SEC sues Hex founder Richard Heart for fraud; old TikTok video creates FUD over Twitter.
- Hex’s market cap dropped post-lawsuit to around $700 million with a slight rebound to $900M.
- Richard Heart’s new documentary highlights his controversial reputation, Ponzi scheme, and charismatic blockchain persona.
After the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued HEX and PulseChain founder Richard Heart on July 31 for defrauding investors, he was found with a handful of shopping bags hoarding luxury Louis Vuitton products, according to a TikTok shared by Whale on Twitter.
However, another user swiftly clarified in the comment section that it was an old video from over a year ago. “FUD at its finest,” they added.
On July 31, the SEC charged Heart for improperly diverting millions of dollars from investors’ funds associated with unregistered cryptocurrency assets. The filing alleges that Hex should be classified as a security and asserts that it illicitly gathered over $1 billion via its fundraising activities. Since then, over the last fourteen days, HEX has experienced a decline of over 40% in relation to the US dollar.
Subsequent to the legal action, Hex’s market capitalization experienced a drop to as low as $706 million on August 2, down from the $1.47 billion figure reported when the lawsuit was initially declared. Nevertheless, there has been a slight resurgence in the market cap, recording $900 million at the time of writing, as per data from CoinMarketCap.
Moreover, the legal action had a similar effect on the overall value of assets secured on its related layer-1 network, Pulsechain. The Total Value Locked (TVL) experienced a decline of over 50%, dropping from $327 million on July 31 to $175 million, at the time of press, based on data from DeFillama. Additionally, MetaMask and Uniswap (UNI) have also taken steps to discontinue support for HEX transactions on their respective platforms.
Across the HEX community, Richard Heart is considered a legend which is emphasized in his latest documentary, “The Highest of Stakes,” released right after the SEC legal filing on August 4. Cas Piancey, who reviewed the documentary, noted:
Unfortunately, this means most of the film revolves around the unlikable Richard Heart.
Furthermore, the review added that the majority of the film revolves around the notion that virtually all financial offerings can be simplified into Ponzi schemes, with Richard Heart serving as a prominent illustration within the cryptocurrency realm.
Meanwhile, another narrative emphasizes Heart’s establishment of a charismatic following within the blockchain sphere, centered around the concept of “number go up,” despite the absence of any tangible real-world utility or purpose, and ultimately predicts his downfall.
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