Blum Co-Founder Vladimir Smerkis Arrested For Suspicion of Fraud

Vladimir Smerkis, co-founder of the Crypto Sport Blum and former head of the CIS division of Binance, was arrested in Moscow on suspicion of fraud.

The court docket of Zamoskvoretsky ordered his detention this week. Authorities haven’t disclosed the main points of the alleged prison exercise.

Blum distances from itself Vladimir Smerkis

Blum grew to become often called a part of the “tap-to-earn” golf video games the place customers repeatedly faucet their screens to earn digital tokens. Within the case of Blum, gamers ticked the autumn of snowflakes to gather in-game forex, the venture claimed that it might be exchanged for actual cash.

The arrest comes because the investigation within the tap-earn platforms intensifies. In a press release shared along with his 5.3 million followers on X (Twitter), Blum clarified that Smerki’s now not have a task within the firm.

“We need to inform our group that Vladimir Smerkis has decreased from its position as CMO and is now not concerned within the growth of the venture or in a co-foundation capability,” the group posted.

Faucet-to-ear video games have attracted worldwide consideration after the viral success of Hamster Kombat in 2024. That Sport’s large token AirDrop, the biggest within the crypto business thus far, introduced customers’ consideration to this sector.

Blum quickly adopted as one of many many tap-to-earn initiatives. These days, the tap-to-ear phase has a market capitalization of $ 511 million.