According to Cointelegraph, Nick Drakon, the CEO of crypto research and education platform Revelo Intel, has resigned following an incident where he was held at gunpoint and forced to transfer personal, company, and investor funds. Drakon detailed the harrowing experience in a Sept. 5 post on X, explaining that a highly sophisticated group targeted, surveilled, and robbed him. The group was specifically interested in crypto assets and knew the deposit addresses of the crypto businesses he operated. Under duress, Drakon was compelled to log into several crypto accounts and transfer funds out. The thieves made off with his funds, Revelo’s working capital retained earnings, and funds from Revelo Ventures, the firm’s investment arm.
Drakon also revealed that the criminals threatened his wife and 8-month-old son. He suggested that there is some evidence indicating involvement from individuals within Revelo Ventures but chose not to disclose further details to avoid compromising the investigation and potentially putting his family at greater risk. Vu Benson, the former chief operating officer, will now take over as the new CEO of Revelo Intel.
To mitigate the financial impact on Revelo Ventures members, Drakon has forfeited his interest in Revelo and committed to returning some of the stolen money. Additionally, 30% of the company’s generated profits will be allocated to affected members. Drakon admitted to making severe mistakes that made him a target and apologized to those who lost money due to the robbery. This incident follows a recent case in Ukraine where four suspects allegedly kidnapped and murdered a foreign national, stealing $170,000 worth of Bitcoin. Bitcoin cypherpunk Jameson Lopp has noted that criminals often identify potential victims through social media posts, meetups, and conferences. Lopp advises against peer-to-peer trades with untrusted individuals, flaunting wealth on social media, and wearing crypto-branded clothing.
