BlockDAG’s $433M Presale in Disaster After ZachXBT Hyperlinks Founder to Previous Scams

The $433 million presale of blockchain undertaking BlockDAG could also be dealing with a significant credibility disaster after on-chain investigator ZachXBT alleged that the particular person behind the undertaking won’t be its publicly offered CEO and will have ties to earlier crypto controversies.

The dispute started earlier this week when BlockDAG’s official X account posted a promotional message titled “The VALUE ERA Begins Tomorrow — A Message From Our CEO, Antony Turner.”

Within the put up, Turner declared the start of a brand new part for the undertaking, promising “shortage, equity, and actual worth” whereas revealing that each one presale bonuses would finish, remaining tokenomics can be printed, and an official presale finish date can be introduced.

He urged buyers to make “remaining purchases” earlier than what he described as “the second the whole lot shifts.”

Shortly after the announcement, ZachXBT, identified for exposing crypto scams and fraudulent ventures, responded publicly.

A $430M Presale and an Alleged Hidden Founder — What’s Actually Going On at BlockDAG?

ZachXBT claimed that BlockDAG’s supposed CEO was merely a paid frontman for Gurhan Kiziloz, a British entrepreneur beforehand linked to failed fintech and crypto ventures. “Cease your lies,” Zach wrote.

“The grifter Gurhan Kiziloz is the true co-founder secretly behind BlockDAG, paying individuals like Antony Turner to be the face whereas transferring thousands and thousands in presale funds from retail buyers through Center Jap OTC brokers.”

ZachXBT later added that BlockDAG blocked him on X and deleted his replies, stating, “Replace: BlockDAG Community blocked me and hid my reply naming the precise founder.”

When requested for proof, he cited offshore entity paperwork and claimed that the identify “Gurhan Kiziloz” was banned in BlockDAG’s Telegram group, the place any point out allegedly leads to automated deletion or consumer restriction.

The allegations come as questions surrounding BlockDAG’s legitimacy intensify. The undertaking, which claims to merge Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) know-how with Proof-of-Work mining for increased scalability, has drawn consideration for its unusually long-running presale.

Initially scheduled to finish in June, then delayed to August, the token launch is now postponed indefinitely.

Regardless of claiming to have raised greater than $430 million since early 2024, the undertaking has but to ship a mainnet or verify any change listings.

Considerations about deceptive advertising have additionally surfaced. In July, BlockDAG introduced that its presale would finish on August 11 at a token value of $0.0016, calling it the “final probability” for patrons.

Nonetheless, months later, tokens are nonetheless being bought at decrease costs, and the presale continues.

Critics counsel this may very well be a deliberate tactic to maintain hype and entice new buyers whereas avoiding a public launch.

Audit Gaps, Presale Delays, and Person Complaints Solid Shadow on BlockDAG’s Operations

BlockDAG’s official supplies state that the undertaking is operated by DAG Programs Ltd., registered in Seychelles. The workforce is led by Antony Turner, a fintech entrepreneur, together with CTO Jeremy Harkness and safety skilled Dr. Youssef Khaoulaj.

The corporate’s web site claims that the undertaking has been audited by Halborn and CertiK, although each corporations reportedly reviewed solely the vesting contracts and never the mainnet itself.

The undertaking’s whitepaper outlines bold technical targets, together with 10,000 transactions per second and an EVM-compatible launchpad for decentralized functions.

It additionally particulars its token allocation: 50% to miners, 33.3% to presale individuals, and simply 1% to the workforce. The workforce has promoted a “highway to Binance itemizing,” however no official change partnerships have been confirmed.

Trustpilot opinions replicate rising skepticism, with almost 60% of customers ranking the undertaking negatively. A number of customers have complained about repeated launch delays and inconsistent communication from the workforce.

The absence of verifiable progress experiences, mixed with the continuing presale, has amplified fears that BlockDAG may very well be working extra like a high-yield funding scheme than a reputable blockchain initiative.

Gurhan Kiziloz’s Troubled Historical past in Fintech and Crypto

The controversy surrounding Gurhan Kiziloz additional complicates BlockDAG’s picture. Kiziloz, a self-described tech entrepreneur, beforehand based fintech startup Lanistar, which confronted a regulatory warning from the UK Monetary Conduct Authority (FCA) in 2020 for working with out authorization.

The FCA warning was later retracted, however the firm continued to face allegations of mismanagement, unpaid wages, pretend opinions, and poisonous office tradition.

Kiziloz was additionally concerned within the cryptocurrency undertaking Large Eyes Coin, a meme token that raised over $40 million in 2023 earlier than collapsing shortly after launch.

Buyers accused the workforce of deceptive advertising, lack of transparency, and failing to ship bought tokens.

Past fintech, Kiziloz heads Nexus Worldwide Holdings, which runs the crypto-integrated on-line on line casino model Spartans(.)com and operates gaming platforms equivalent to Megaposta.

Whereas these ventures have generated important income, his historical past in each crypto and fintech has drawn scrutiny as a consequence of repeated controversies and questions on investor safety.

As of mid-October, BlockDAG continues to advertise its “Worth Period” advertising marketing campaign, insisting that it’s coming into a brand new part of improvement.

Nonetheless, the timing of ZachXBT’s revelations has forged critical doubt over the undertaking’s management and the integrity of its presale.

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