BlockDAG’s $433 Million Presale Faces Crisis Amid Allegations of Hidden Founder and Past Scams
Blockchain project BlockDAG’s $433 million presale has been thrown into turmoil after on-chain investigator ZachXBT claimed that the person behind the project may not be the publicly unveiled CEO and may have ties to previous crypto controversies. The allegations have sparked concerns about the project’s legitimacy and the integrity of its presales.
The dispute began when BlockDAG’s official X account posted a promotional message titled “The VALUE ERA Starts Tomorrow – A Message From Our CEO, Antony Turner.” In the post, Turner announced the start of a new phase of the project, promising “scarcity, fairness, and real value,” while also announcing that all presale bonuses would end, final tokenomics would be released, and an official presale end date would be announced.
Allegations of a Hidden Founder and Past Scams
ZachXBT claimed that BlockDAG’s alleged CEO was merely a paid front man for Gurhan Kiziloz, a British entrepreneur previously associated with failed fintech and crypto companies. “Stop your lies,” Zach wrote. “Scammer Gurhan Kiziloz is secretly the real co-founder of BlockDAG. He pays people like Antony Turner to be the face while he transfers millions in pre-sale funds from retail investors through OTC brokers in the Middle East.”
Stop your lies, scammer Gurhan Kiziloz is secretly the real co-founder of Blockdag, paying the likes of Antony Turner to be the face of it while funneling millions in pre-sale funds from inexperienced retail investors through OTC brokers in the Middle East. pic.twitter.com/0HQal8xuX6
ZachXBT later added that BlockDAG listed him, and when asked for evidence, he cited documents from offshore companies and claimed that the name “Gurhan Kiziloz” was banned in BlockDAG’s Telegram group, where any mention allegedly resulted in automatic deletion or user restriction.
Audit Gaps, Presale Delays, and User Complaints
The allegations come at a time when questions about BlockDAG’s legitimacy are intensifying. The project, which claims to combine Directed Asymmetric Graph (DAG) technology with proof-of-work mining for greater scalability, has attracted attention for its unusually long presale. The token launch was originally scheduled to end in June, then was postponed to August and has now been postponed indefinitely.
Although the project claims to have raised more than $430 million since the beginning of 2024, it has yet to deploy a mainnet or confirm exchange listings. Concerns about misleading advertising have also been raised. In July, BlockDAG announced that the presale would end on August 11 at a token price of $0.0016, calling it a “last chance” for buyers.
Gurhan Kiziloz’s Troubled History in Fintech and Crypto
The controversy surrounding Gurhan Kiziloz further complicates BlockDAG’s image. Kiziloz, a self-proclaimed tech entrepreneur, previously founded fintech startup Lanistar, which was warned by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in 2020 for conducting unauthorized business activities.
Kiziloz was also involved in the Big Eyes Coin cryptocurrency project, a meme token that raised over $40 million in 2023 before collapsing shortly after launch. Investors accused the team of misleading marketing, lack of transparency, and non-delivery of purchased tokens.
Source: CryptoNews
