Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomefinanceBackroom battle imperils $230 million cryptocurrency venture

Backroom battle imperils $230 million cryptocurrency venture

  • A tech project called Tezos raised $232 million online in a wildly successful initial coin offering three months ago
  • But the venture is now in danger of falling apart because of a battle for control playing out behind the scenes
  • Cryptocurrency exchanges, where virtual currencies are bought, sold and stored, have become magnets for fraud

Just three months ago, a tech project called Tezos raised $232 million online in a wildly successful "initial coin offering," in which new digital currency is parceled out to buyers. At the time, it was the most money ever raised from the public in the white-hot cryptocurrency sector.

But the venture is now in danger of falling apart because of a battle for control playing out behind the scenes, Reuters has learned.

The acrimonious dispute pits Tezos' two young founders — Arthur and Kathleen Breitman — against Johann Gevers, the president of a Swiss foundation the couple helped establish to handle the coin offering and promote and develop the Tezos computer network.

Under Swiss law, the foundation is supposed to be independent. It holds all of the funds raised, which have mushroomed to more than $400 million in value because the contributions were made in two cryptocurrencies — bitcoin and ether — that have appreciated sharply. But the Breitmans, who still control the Tezos source code through a Delaware company, are seeking to oust the head of the foundation.

An attorney for the Breitmans sent a 46-page letter on Sunday to the two other members of the foundation's three-person board, calling for Gevers' prompt removal and seeking to give the couple a "substantial role" in a new structure that would limit the foundation's responsibilities.

The document accuses Gevers of "self-dealing, self-promotion and conflicts of interest."

According to Gevers, the two board members later suggested via email that he step aside for a month while they investigate.

Gevers told Reuters he is not stepping down. "As Arthur has done to others before me," Gevers said, "this is attempted character assassination. It's a long laundry list of misleading statements and outright lies." He said the other two board members "are attempting an illegal coup."

The Breitmans have been trying to control the foundation as if it were their own private entity, Gevers said, by bypassing the foundation's legal structure and interfering with management and operations. This has resulted in costly delays in developing and launching the Tezos network and new currency, he said.

"They're unnecessarily putting the project at risk," he said.

In a written statement sent to Reuters, the Breitmans reiterated their accusations against Gevers and said they acted "in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations." They said their priority "remains the successful launch of the Tezos network."

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