‘Bitcoin Jesus’ Roger Ver Spars With Crypto Exchange CoinFlex Over Margin Call

(Bloomberg) — A public dispute between a longtime crypto investor and a digital-asset exchange is the latest in a series of mini-crises that have rocked crypto markets in recent weeks.

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CoinFlex, a crypto exchange, on Tuesday named Roger Ver as the counterparty who failed to pay $47 million of stablecoin in a margin call. CoinFlex had previously disclosed a liquidity issue that led to the exchange pausing withdrawals. CoinFlex CEO Mark Lamb said in a tweet that the company served Ver, who is an investor in the exchange and was an early promoter of Bitcoin, with a notice of default.

“I have no debt to CoinFlex,” Ver told Bloomberg in an emailed statement. Later, he tweeted that “some rumors have been spreading that I have defaulted on a debt to a counter-party,” without naming CoinFlex specifically. Ver said the rumors weren’t true, instead saying the counterparty owed him “a substantial sum of money, and I am currently seeking the return of my funds.” Lamb in turn responded on Twitter, saying Ver’s tweet is factually incorrect and CoinFlex owes him no funds.

A broad-based selloff in digital assets and the collapse of high-profile tokens have caused ripple effects across the industry. Major lenders Celsius Network and Babel Finance have frozen withdrawals, and Three Arrows Capital, a crypto hedge fund, is also facing liquidity troubles that have rattled investors.

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CoinFlex on Monday announced a plan to make up the shortfall triggered by the default by issuing a new token that will offer a 20% annual return. The resumption of withdrawals, targeted for June 30, will depend on the level of demand for the new tokens.

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Ver earned the nickname “Bitcoin Jesus” for proselyting about the world’s largest cryptocurrency in its early days. He has invested in several Bitcoin-related startups, and has become one of the most vocal advocates of Bitcoin Cash. He is co-founder and investor at Blockchain.com, a crypto wallet and an exchange which recently raised a round of funding. In a YouTube video last year with Lamb, Ver discussed the yield earning opportunities at CoinFlex.

Founded in 2019, CoinFlex is a smaller crypto exchange focusing on derivatives trading, with less than $200 million in total value locked, according to its website.

In a previous update, CoinFlex said while it would typically liquidate any negative equity account, the client at issue had a non-liquidation recourse account. No other accounts are in negative equity, it added.