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The Daily: Blockchain project ousts CEO amid $50 million crypto OTC fraud allegations, Paradigm invests $15 million in 'world's fastest' DEX, and more

The Daily: Blockchain project ousts CEO amid $50 million crypto OTC fraud allegations, Paradigm invests $15 million in 'world's fastest' DEX, and more

The BlockThe Block2025/06/22 16:00
By:By James Hunt

Quick Take Self Chain has fired CEO Ravindra Kumar after users accused him of orchestrating a $50 million multi-month Ponzi-style OTC crypto scam. Early-stage crypto venture capital firm Paradigm exclusively led a $15 million Series A round for Global Token Exchange (GTE), a DEX aiming to match the speed and performance of CEXs like Binance and Coinbase.

The Daily: Blockchain project ousts CEO amid $50 million crypto OTC fraud allegations, Paradigm invests $15 million in 'world's fastest' DEX, and more image 0

The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter,  The Daily , which comes out on weekday afternoons.

I hope you had a good weekend, folks. The crypto market saw over $1 billion in liquidations as bitcoin dipped below $100,000 on Sunday following news that the U.S. had carried out three military strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. The escalating geopolitical conflict is keeping traders on edge.

In today's newsletter, Self Chain ousts its CEO after allegations of involvement in a $50 million crypto OTC fraud, Paradigm invests $15 million in GTE, OKX becomes the latest crypto firm to consider a U.S. IPO, and more.

Meanwhile, Strategy and Metaplanet keep topping up their bitcoin coffers.

Let's get started.

Blockchain project ousts CEO amid $50 million crypto OTC fraud allegations

Self Chain has fired CEO Ravindra Kumar after users accused him of orchestrating a $50 million multi-month Ponzi-style OTC crypto scam.

  • "Ravindra Kumar's role as CEO has been formally terminated. He will no longer hold any position, responsibility, or association with Self Chain in any capacity going forward," the blockchain project wrote on X.
  • The scheme allegedly lured investors through Telegram with fake discounted token deals for GRT, APT, SEI, SUI, NEAR, and others, using new deposits to pay earlier victims.
  • OTC desk Aza Ventures reportedly handled many of the trades and claimed a broker called "Source 1" initially delivered real returns before switching to fraud — with later reports linking this alias to Kumar.
  • Mysten Labs co-founder Adeniyi Abiodun and Berachain pseudonymous founder SmokeyTheBera both publicly warned the community about the likely scam months before Self Chain acted.
  • Kumar has denied the allegations as "completely false" and said his lawyers would respond to the accusations.

Paradigm invests $15 million in 'world's fastest' DEX

Early-stage crypto venture capital firm Paradigm exclusively led a $15 million Series A round for Global Token Exchange (GTE), a DEX aiming to match the speed and performance of CEXs like Binance and Coinbase.

  • GTE uses a central limit order book or CLOB while remaining fully non-custodial, composable, and permissionless in what its founders describe as "the world's fastest decentralized exchange."
  • Built on the EVM-compatible Layer 1 MegaETH, GTE targets retail traders and liquidity providers seeking a seamless, low-latency trading experience.
  • GTE claims to fix DEX pain points, like high latency and poor UX, and its testnet has already drawn around 700,000 users.

OKX crypto exchange considering US IPO following April relaunch

Global crypto exchange OKX is reportedly exploring an IPO in the United States just months after relaunching its U.S. operations in April, The Information reported.

  • The move follows a $500 million DOJ settlement in February over allegations of operating a money-transmitting business without a license.
  • OKX has set up headquarters in San Jose and grown its U.S. team to around 500 employees under regional CEO Roshan Robert.
  • The company isn't the only crypto exchange business eyeing a U.S. listing, with Kraken, Gemini, and Peter Thiel-backed Bullish also weighing their options.

Global crypto funds extend inflow streak to 10 weeks despite geopolitical uncertainty

Global crypto funds added $1.24 billion last week, extending their positive run to 10 weeks and pushing year-to-date inflows to a record $15.1 billion, according to asset manager CoinShares.

  • Bitcoin and Ethereum-based funds led the way with inflows of $1.1 billion and $124 million, indicating strong investor sentiment despite geopolitical uncertainty, Head of Research James Butterfill said.
  • "However, the surge in activity earlier in the week tapered off in the latter half, likely due to the U.S. Juneteenth holiday and reports of U.S. involvement in the Iran conflict," Butterfill added.
  • U.S.-based funds dominated regionally with net inflows of $1.25 billion, followed by Canada and Germany, with $20.9 million and $10.9 million, respectively.

New York scammer gambles away nearly all of the $4 million he stole from Coinbase users

Onchain sleuth ZachXBT said Christian "Daytwo" Nieves is the ringleader of a phishing scam that stole $4 million from Coinbase users .

  • Nieves, also known as "PawsOnHips" and his small call center crew allegedly impersonated Coinbase support staff to trick victims into visiting phishing sites, draining their wallets in more than 30 suspected cases.
  • "It's a rather easy case for law enforcement to pursue," ZachXBT wrote. However, the chances of recovering assets are slim since he squandered most of the illicit proceeds on gambling.

In the next 24 hours

  • ECB President Christine Lagarde will speak at 9 a.m. ET on Tuesday. Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey follows at 10 a.m. U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testifies on the economic outlook and recent monetary policy actions before the Joint Economic Committee at the same time.
  • Permissionless kicks off in New York.
  • EigenLayer is set for a token unlock .

Never miss a beat with The Block's  daily digest  of the most influential events happening across the digital asset ecosystem.


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Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.

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