Russian authorities have arrested Vladimir Smerkis, co-founder of Telegram-based crypto mission Blum, on suspicion of large-scale fraud, in response to native media outlet TASS. The Zamoskvoretsky District Court docket of Moscow authorised the request to maintain Smerkis in custody whereas investigations proceed.
The arrest reportedly pertains to Smerkis’s previous ventures—The Token Fund and Tokenbox—which he co-founded in 2017. These crypto funding platforms allegedly precipitated investor losses totaling round $15 million, although no formal prices have been introduced but.
Smerkis additionally beforehand served as the overall supervisor for Binance’s operations in Russia and the broader CIS area.
Blum Severs Ties, Confirms Smerkis Resignation
In response to the arrest, Blum acknowledged on its official X account on Might 18. The crew clarified that Smerkis had stepped down from his function as chief advertising and marketing officer and not holds any place inside the firm.
“Our team remains fully committed and focused on our goals. Day-to-day operations continue as usual,” Blum acknowledged.
The corporate emphasised that Blum will not be linked to Smerkis’s earlier tasks and sought to distance the platform from the continued authorized case.
Blum is a “tap-to-earn” crypto sport hosted inside Telegram Mini Apps. Customers accumulate Blum Factors by tapping falling snowflakes within the mission’s Drop Sport. These factors have been anticipated to transform into BLUM tokens throughout an upcoming Token Technology Occasion (TGE), initially teased for Q3 2024 and later pushed to Q2 2025. The delay within the airdrop and the dearth of readability on the token launch have already led to frustration amongst Blum’s consumer base.
Scrutiny Mounts on Faucet-to-Earn Ecosystem
Nonetheless, Blum crypto co-founder’s arrest has solid doubt over the mission’s token airdrop plans. A number of group members expressed frustration over the dearth of readability and communication.
One consumer on X wrote:
“Blum owes its users a clarification on the planned airdrop.”
One other crypto influencer, RK Gupta, criticized the silence:
“No airdrop. No updates. Just silence. Was it all for nothing?”
Blum was among the many tasks following the tap-to-earn pattern that Hamster Kombat popularized in 2024. That sport’s huge airdrop, the most important within the business up to now, introduced the mannequin mainstream consideration. As of Might 2025, CoinGecko estimates the whole market cap of tap-to-earn tasks to be $511 million.
Whereas the Blum crew maintains that growth is ongoing, the sudden departure of a high-profile co-founder beneath legal investigation may hamper group belief and investor confidence, particularly with the long-anticipated airdrop nonetheless unfulfilled.