Roger Ver, largely considered the "Bitcoin Jesus" for betting big on crypto early in its lifetime, has been accused of creating the so-called "negative equity" account over at cryptocurrency exchange CoinFlex. The allegations stem from CoinFlex CEO Mark Lamb, who reported Ver as the indebted investor on Twitter on Tuesday, June 28, citing a contract between the two parties that obligates Ver "to personally guarantee any negative equity on his CoinFlex account and top up margin regularly."
Roger Ver owes CoinFLEX $47 Million USDC. We have a written contract with him obligating him to personally guarantee any negative equity on his CoinFLEX account and top up margin regularly. He has been in default of this agreement and we have served a notice of default.
— Mark Lamb 🐂 (@MarkDavidLamb) June 28, 2022
The report first made headlines on Tuesday, when the crypto exchange debuted its CoinFlex rvUSD, a $47 million effort to push the firm out of the negative through a 20% interest incentive. Despite the potential for high returns, CoinFlex consumers were not pleased with the strategy and called into question why the firm was protecting the investor who has yet to pay back $47 million in USDC amid the margin call.
While CoinFlex would typically liquidate the account holding negative equity, the investor had a clause in the account that pledged "stringent personal guarantees around account equity and margin calls in exchange for not being liquidated," according to CoinFlex. CoinFlex withdrawals have been on hold since last week due to the ongoing debacle, itself causing quite a ruckus in an already placated industry currently situated in a so-called crypto winter.
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On Tuesday, CoinFlex CEO Lamb finally caved and announced the indebted investor as Roger Ver, which spurred a public bout between the two parties on the nature of the margin call. Lamb wrote in reply to his initial Tweet that Ver "had a long track record of previously topping margin and meeting margin requirements in accordance with this agreement." Lamb adds that the two parties have been in contact "with the aim of resolving it."
Recently some rumors have been
— Roger Ver (@rogerkver) June 28, 2022
spreading that I have defaulted on a
debt to a counter-party. These rumors
are false. Not only do I not have a debt
to this counter-party, but this counter-
party owes me a substantial sum of
money, and I am currently seeking the
return of my funds.
Ver has openly refuted these claims, citing that a so-called counterparty instead owes him "a substantial sum of money." Lamb, however, has remained adamant on his allegations, claiming that "the debt is 100% related to his account." Lamb likewise lambasted Ver's behavior online, saying that it is "unfortunate that Roger Ver needs to resort to such tactics." The CoinFlex CEO also denied holding any debts owed to Ver.
Neither party has posted on Twitter since. It's unclear how much of the various allegations are based in fact, but it is clear that Ver has been at the forefront of crypto concepts since its inception. His own Twitter bio highlights Ver as an early investor in several of the largest crypto businesses, such as both Blockchain.com and Bitcoin.com, which he co-founded, in addition to Z.cash, Kraken, Ripple, and plenty more. His involvement in CoinFlex would certainly make sense, but there is no hard evidence he is the culprit in the margin call just yet.
CoinFlex, on the other hand, has been likened to a Ponzi scheme several times. The CoinFlex rvUSD itself is viewed as an obvious ploy to draw in hapless investors for one's mishandling of funds. The rvUSD token, which requires customers to purchase a minimum of $100,000 with USDC, is all but wishful thinking in a rather dire market, wherein even Bitcoin seemingly is struggling to survive.
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