Nick Drakon, the CEO of crypto research and education platform Revelo Intel, has stepped down after he said he was held at gunpoint and forced to transfer personal, company and investor funds.
“I was recently targeted, surveilled and robbed by a highly sophisticated group,” Drakon wrote in a Sept. 5 X post:
“The group was specifically interested in crypto assets and knew the deposit addresses belonging to the crypto businesses I operate. I was forced, at gunpoint, to log into a number of crypto accounts and transfer funds out.”
He added that the thieves stole his personal funds, Revelo’s working capital and retained earnings, as well as funds from Revelo Ventures, the firm’s investment arm.
Source: Nick Drakon
Drakon said the thieves also threatened his wife and eight-month-old son.
There’s “some evidence” to suggest people in Revelo Ventures played a role in the robbery, Drakon claimed. However, he decided not to publicly share more details to ensure an investigation isn’t hindered, adding that it “may potentially put my family at further risk.”
Former chief operating officer Vu Benson will now replace Drakon as Revelo Intel’s CEO.
Recovery plan
Drakon has forfeited his interest in Revelo to return some of the money to Revelo Ventures members, while 30% of the company’s generated profits will also go to affected members.
He claimed he made “severe mistakes” that made him a target and apologized to Revelo Ventures members who lost money from the robbery.
Related: Two OneCoin Promoters Found Dead in Mexico
The robbery comes weeks after four suspects allegedly kidnapped and murdered a foreign national in Ukraine, stealing $170,000 of Bitcoin (BTC).
Bitcoin cypherpunk Jameson Lopp noted that many of these criminals typically identify potential victims through social media posts, meetups and conferences.
Lopp strongly advises against peer-to-peer trades — particularly with people you don’t trust — flaunting wealth on social media and wearing crypto-branded clothing.
Big Questions: What’s with all the crypto deaths?