{"id":157481,"date":"2025-05-19T21:00:58","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T18:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptodnes.bg\/en\/?p=157481"},"modified":"2025-05-19T04:06:32","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T01:06:32","slug":"blum-co-founder-arrested-in-russia-as-project-distances-itself-from-scandal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptodnes.bg\/en\/blum-co-founder-arrested-in-russia-as-project-distances-itself-from-scandal\/","title":{"rendered":"Blum Co-Founder Arrested in Russia as Project Distances Itself from Scandal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/tass.ru\/proisshestviya\/23973465\" rel=\"nofollow\">arrest<\/a> <\/strong>took place at the Zamoskvoretsky District Court, with police confirming the case involves financial misconduct \u201con an especially large scale.\u201d While official charges remain undisclosed, speculation points to Smerkis\u2019s earlier ventures \u2014 including The Token Fund and Tokenbox \u2014 which attracted millions in investment before fading from the spotlight.<\/p>\n<p>Blum, which combines gamified crypto engagement with exchange services via Telegram, quickly issued a statement attempting to distance itself from Smerkis. In a post on X, the company said he had stepped down from his role as Chief Marketing Officer and was no longer involved in the project.<\/p>\n<p>Launched in May 2024 with early backing from Binance Labs through its Most Valuable Builder program, Blum gained popularity through its \u201cDrop Game,\u201d where users collected points by tapping virtual snowflakes \u2014 with the promise of a future token airdrop. But repeated delays and the ongoing wait for a token-generation event have already sparked frustration among users. The latest developments have only fueled more skepticism.<\/p>\n<p><div class=\"read-more pb-3 pt-3 pt-md-2 px-3 my-4 border bg-light\">\n    <h5 class=\"text-uppercase border-bottom mb-3 pb-1\">Read More:<\/h5>\n    <a class=\"article row post-157420\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptodnes.bg\/en\/as-moodys-downgrades-u-s-bitcoin-signals-investor-confidence\/\" title=\"As Moody\u2019s Downgrades U.S., Bitcoin Signals Investor Confidence\">\n        <div class=\"contentRight col-4\">\n            <span class=\"imgContainer mt-0\">\n                <img class=\"image img-defer\" src=\"https:\/\/cryptodnes.bg\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/bitcoin-7-15-240x170.jpg\">\n            <\/span>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"contentLeft col-8\">\n            <h4 class=\"title mb-0\">As Moody\u2019s Downgrades U.S., Bitcoin Signals Investor Confidence<\/h4>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p>The Drop Game closed on May 14, and the team says its airdrop remains on track for the second quarter of 2025. However, the arrest has raised new doubts within the community about the project\u2019s future.<\/p>\n<p>In a follow-up post, Blum thanked Smerkis for his past contributions but reassured users that operations are continuing without disruption. \u201cOur team remains fully committed,\u201d the message read, \u201cand focused on delivering the roadmap ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vladimir Smerkis, a key figure behind the crypto-powered Telegram Mini App Blum, has been arrested in Moscow amid allegations of large-scale fraud, according to Russian media reports.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":32622,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[426,424],"coin_category":[],"class_list":["post-157481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cryptocrime","tag-binance","tag-crypto"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Blum Co-Founder Arrested in Russia as Project Distances Itself from Scandal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Vladimir Smerkis, a key figure behind the crypto-powered Telegram Mini App Blum, has been arrested in Moscow amid allegations of large-scale fraud, according to Russian media reports.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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