Tezos raised $232 million in virtual currency by issuing its own «Tezzie» coins. How safe are the proceeds now that a fight has broken out between Tezos' founders and the head of its Swiss foundation?
The fight for Tezos' millions is being waged behind closed doors: Arthur and Kathleen Breitman, the couple behind the virtual «Tezzie» currency, are seeking to oust Johann Gevers, who runs the Swiss-based Tezos foundation for them.
The Tezzie fundraising, which took in about 66,000 bitcoins and 361,000 ethers, was controversial from the start, as finews.asia reported in August. The crypto stash has multiplied in value since then because the value of the two currencies has surged.
Where are the funds, how safe are they with accusations of misdealing and misappropriation flying and a California class-action lawsuit from investors trying to recoup their funds?
No Tezos Refunds
Last month, foundation head Gevers told «Reuters» that he had been converting the Tezos proceeds from digital into real currency at a rate of more than $10 million per week, aiming to invest them more diversely.
Bitcoin Suisse accompanied Tezos' July fund-raising. The Zug-based firm has become a cryptocurrency broker of sorts, handling digital currency transactions and assisting many of the slew of token firms which choose to raise money by issuing coins.
On Tuesday, Bitcoin Suisse Chief Executive Niklas Nikolajsen in a statement said that refunds «would not be possible, due to both regulatory reasons as well as practical reasons.»
Funds Not at Risk
Niklajsen, who eventually wants to elevate Bitcoin Suisse into a Finma-regulated entity, said he wouldn't address the Tezos fight directly. However, the broker did put the kibosh on an accusation that Gevers, who is struggling to get his firm, Monetas, off the ground, had enriched himself at Tezos' expense.
Bitcoin, which is handling the Tezos transactions, said it «is currently not aware of any evidence that contributor funds have been mismanaged, lost or are put at risk by the Tezos Foundation nor any party involved in the project.»
The firm acts as a mandatory co-signer on Tezos' funds, meaning Gevers and the foundation cannot govern the ICO proceeds single-handedly.
