CoinFlex CEO Mark Lamb says crypto investor Roger Ver owes the exchange $47M in USDC, after Ver denied “some rumors” he defaulted on a debt to a counterparty

The crypto exchange is launching a recovery token because of debt owed by a high-net-worth customer.

CoinDesk 2022-06-29 Michael Bellusci

Context & Ripple Effects

CoinFlex had already frozen withdrawals and outlined a Recovery Value USD token issuance to address a $47 million shortfall. Naming Roger Ver as the alleged debtor turns an exchange liquidity problem into a public dispute with a specific high-net-worth customer.

The recovery plan did not immediately restore normal access: CoinFlex later delayed the resumption of withdrawals while tying it to a successful token raise. That makes the alleged debt central to both the exchange’s funding plan and customer access to balances.

First-order effects

CoinFlex’s recovery-token plan shifts the immediate burden of the alleged unpaid USDC obligation onto a new instrument intended to fund repayment after withdrawals were frozen.
Roger Ver faces a public dispute with CoinFlex over the alleged $47 million obligation, while his denial leaves the exchange’s stated basis for the recovery effort contested.

Second-order effects

CoinFlex customers must evaluate a recovery token rather than a straightforward restoration of withdrawals; the exchange later limited withdrawals to 10% of balances while excluding flexUSD.
CoinFlex’s ability to reopen normally becomes tied to demand for the recovery token, since the company later said withdrawals would return after a successful raise.

Third-order effects

If exchanges address concentrated customer-credit losses by issuing recovery instruments, customer deposits can become exposed to an exchange’s private counterparty arrangements rather than remaining immediately withdrawable.
The pattern fits a wider crypto legitimacy gap: later FTX bankruptcy coverage similarly centered on large customer claims and the recovery of liquid assets, reinforcing the importance of how exchanges segregate and protect customer funds.

The trend: Crypto exchanges’ handling of customer assets is becoming a credibility test when private credit exposure forces withdrawals to be replaced by recovery claims.

Discussion

@rogerkver Roger Ver on x
Recently some rumors have been 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.
@markdavidlamb @markdavidlamb on x
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.
@markdavidlamb @markdavidlamb on x
He is denying that the debt pertains to him and so we felt the need to clarify to the public that yes - the debt is 100% related to his account. Roger Ver a citizen of the European Union who we believe has significant assets in the US, UK and other relevant jurisdictions
@markdavidlamb @markdavidlamb on x
He had a long track record of previously topping up margin and meeting margin requirements in accordance with this agreement. We have been speaking to him on calls frequently about this situation with the aim of resolving it. We still would like to resolve it.
@autismcapital @autismcapital on x
Has all this chaos not proven why DeFi services make sense? It doesn't matter if you're Su Zhu, Roger Ver, or God; if you hit your liquidation price, you get liquidated. Theres no threatening or human coercion you can do. You get rekt, via the agreement you made, dispassionately.
@markdavidlamb @markdavidlamb on x
CoinFLEX also categorically denies that we have any debts owing to him. His statement is blatantly false. It is unfortunate that Roger Ver needs to resort to such tactics in order to deflect from his liabilities and responsibilities.
@markdavidlamb Mark Lamb on x
Hey everyone, I know you've been waiting to hear about the state of withdrawals on @CoinFLEXdotcom . We appreciate your patience. Here's an official update. 👇 https://www.bloomberg.com/... I went on @crypto @BloombergTV to talk about this today and it's time to go into more depth…
@buttcoin @buttcoin on x
since he no longer had a passport. The US Embassy in Barbados said he would have to pay his back taxes before they processed the visa. He cut the IRS a check for $325,000 which was cashed. They promptly sent him a letter denying his visa. He's still barred entry today. https://tw…
@dejanroljic Dejan Roljic on x
In our situation @rogerkver always kept his word and he always sticks to the agreement...at everything we worked on. I don't know much but as I see it @MarkDavidLamb is that there wouldn't be any @CoinFLEX without Roger..🤷‍♂️ 🤷‍♂️🤷 ‍♂️ https://twitter.com/...
@sniko_ @sniko_ on x
Even if RogerVer does owe $47M, is it correct procedure to; - offered an extremely risky service (non liquidation crypto position) - publicly name the HNWI - socialise the debt How deep does this (Crypto in June, ala Luna, 3AC, Celsius) fallout go? https://twitter.com/...
@statelayer @statelayer on x
ver really went and said https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@staringispolite Jonathan Howard on x
i have not lost the funds that were in the loan for which a counterparty is filing in court forgive me i won't name them EU libel is so easy i'm told https://twitter.com/...
@0xfoobar @0xfoobar on x
Recently some rumors have been spreading that I have copy pasted a legal notice from my lawyer. These rumors are false. Not only did I write this myself but these line breaks are how I always type. https://twitter.com/...
@priapusiq @priapusiq on x
😬 When you copy and paste what your lawyer sent you, and forget to reformat for Twitter... https://twitter.com/...
@thestalwart Joe Weisenthal on x
Absolutely incredible crypto plot twist https://twitter.com/...
@sunchartist Sunil Beri on x
Roger Ver Allegedly Defaults on CoinFLEX for $47 Million https://cryptobriefing.com/... How did he get the name “Bitcoin Jesus”? Wasn't that a red flag in itself?
@iamroboneill @iamroboneill on x
Read this thread and TAKE NOTE they point out: “Roger Ver has significant assets in the EU, UK, and US” Why is this important? Because these countries WILL seize your assets if given a reason & have the means to do so even if you're wealthy/powerful Which is a huge liability http…
@imnotthewolf Wolf on x
Damn. Even Roger Ver getting rekt. The rektoning is upon us. I don't think I've ever seen so many big players get rekt like this before. Makes me wonder just how much they assisted into pumping Bitcoin to the latest ATH. https://twitter.com/...
@byzgeneral @byzgeneral on x
Deploying more capital - steady lads. https://twitter.com/...
@kevinmuir Kevin Muir on x
Shouldn't this all be on a chain somewhere? https://twitter.com/...
@degenspartan @degenspartan on x
times must be tough if roger ver cant even afford 47m while the death toll will probably never be public, i imagine that this bloody june slaughtered a lot of people many of these losses will never be spoken of, because whats more shameful than being force liquidated this low? ht…
CoinFLEX Mark Lamb on x
CoinFLEX's Tokenization Solution to Resume Withdrawals and Normal Operations
@fatmanterra Fat Man on x
A verified insider has confirmed that the “high net worth individual” who owes CoinFLEX money is Bitcoin Cash advocate & CoinFLEX shareholder Roger Ver. Ver had a long on BCH, and the platform allowed him to run a deficit because he personally guaranteed he would pay them back. h…
@fatmanterra Fat Man on x
This is incredible. A centralized yield service, CoinFLEX, gave a $47m uncollateralized loan to someone who can't pay it right now. To fund other customers' withdrawals, they are now turning his debt into a token and selling it to people, offering 20% APY on it. Amazingly degen. …
@freddieraynolds @freddieraynolds on x
Alright so @CoinFLEXdotcom is issuing rvUSD ("recovery value USD") to plug their balance sheet gap caused by an unnamed crypto whale. Only one whale I know of with those RV initials. Discuss. https://twitter.com/...
@caspiancey Cas Piancey on x
A lot of people suggesting that because CasCoin withdrawals have been halted for two weeks CasExchange is ruined. No. We are strategically raising $47 million from the CasRecoveryCoin, which will offer 21% APR paid in DoubleCasRecoveryToken. Confused? Good.
@pentosh1 Pentoshi Powell Jr on x
There will be more stories like this, and more forced selling. Big and small (but the biggest ones are done imo) https://twitter.com/...
@fintechfrank Frank Chaparona on x
CoinFLEX CEO accuses investor Roger Ver of defaulting on $47 million loan. Ver appears to deny the accusations, noting: “This counter-party owes me a substantial sum of money, and I am currently seeking the return of my funds.”
@bennetttomlin Bennett Tomlin on x
$47 million? Wow. That's like 2,350 Bitcoins or 450,000 Bitcoin Cash https://twitter.com/...
@tante @tante on x
This is probably the dumbest thing I have seen in weeks. That guy should also go to jail. https://twitter.com/...
@arekfurt @arekfurt on x
You know this is a totally legit and sound investment because they're promising a 20% rate of return. 🤔🤦 https://www.techmeme.com/...
@thecryptolark Lark Davis on x
Whoa! Roger was estimated to have hundreds of thousands of #bitcoin at one point. And now this... https://cryptobriefing.com/...
@btc_jacksparrow @btc_jacksparrow on x
Are people actually that stupid to buy Roger Ver his debt? https://twitter.com/...
@seldo Laurie Voss on x
This Coinflex story is amazing. They lent about 1/3rd of all their customers' money to one guy, Roger Ver, who is also a shareholder in Coinflex. Now Roger is refusing to pay Coinflex back so they are... issuing a new coin to pay back their existing customers. https://twitter.com…
@williamlegate @williamlegate on x
This is borderline criminal & will certainly end in handcuffs. https://twitter.com/...
@lomahcrypto Loma on x
Mf really just copy pasted this from his PR/Legal team without formatting it. He's guilty, your honor. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@edstromandrew @edstromandrew on x
Our giant rich counterparties have defaulted on us so we are floating a rescue financing deal to the public and it's tokenized. I hope it's senior to all claims other than retail bag holders. https://twitter.com/...
@buttcoin @buttcoin on x
The funniest Roger Ver story, and maybe funniest Bitcoin story ever, happened after Roger renounced his US citizenship to avoid paying taxes and fled to St. Kitts. Back in 2015 he wanted to speak at the Miami bitcoin conference so he applies for a US Visa to visit 1/2 https://twi…
@chrisblec Chris Blec on x
This is insane. Stay very far away from this nonsense. https://twitter.com/...
@arjunkharpal Arjun Kharpal on x
Another wild crypto story. CoinFlex has a big customer in debt. The individual can't repay + CF could not liquidate the account b/c of a special clause. So CoinFlex issued a new coin to raise $47M to plug the gap. Coin has 20% yield. What could go wrong? https://www.cnbc.com/...
@coinflexdotcom @coinflexdotcom on x
We have temporarily paused withdrawals on @CoinFLEXdotcom as a protective measure. We are working to resume withdrawals as soon as possible. Please find our announcement here with more details. Thank you for your support. https://coinflex.com/...
@dougpolkvids Doug Polk on x
Recently CoinFlex paused withdrawals due to “extreme market conditions” This is, in my opinion, not an acceptable action for an exchange to take. According to their statement, “Withdrawals are estimated to begin June 30th” July 1st, I'll be posting my own statement. Thank you.
@coinflexdotcom @coinflexdotcom on x
Hi everyone, we're sharing our latest update on plans for re-enabling withdrawals on the platform 👇 https://coinflex.com/...
@devahaz Deva Hazarika on x
For people sad they missed out on risk-free 20% returns with Anchor, here's a new 20% yield crypto opportunity! https://twitter.com/...
@alphaketchum @alphaketchum on x
Actually not a bad idea. Selling off a part of their book using a token. Run it. https://twitter.com/...
@bcrypt Yan on x
history repeats itself 😂 https://twitter.com/...
@carzonfye @carzonfye on x
This is basically how I would imagine it would work if warhammer 40k orkz had financial institutions https://twitter.com/...
@dixonpiper69 Dixon Piper on x
TLDR: send us all the money we lost, we promise we won't go bankrupt and will pay you back somehow, someday. Crypto continues to amaze me every day https://twitter.com/...
@ave_eli @ave_eli on x
Crypto slowly “reinventing” all the ideas that have already blown up in tradFi, innovation at its finest. Only thing missing here is a crypto debt rating agency - someone call the VCs and devs, let's get a token going for a new debt rating agency for shitcoin CDOs, derivatives. h…
@joshelman Josh Elman on x
There were thousands upon thousands of bank failures in the 1920s / Great Depression due to runs on the bank. This resulted in the 1933 Banking Act, FDIC, and many stringent controls. 2020s - we're seeing runs on the bank and crazy solutions https://coinflex.com/...
@robaeprice Rob Price on x
1. Take out $47M crypto loan 2. Refuse to pay it back 3. Wait for your lender to try to sell $47M in tokens to public promising a 20% yield to cover your debt 4. Buy tokens 5. Collect yield 6. Repay crypto loan 7. Profit and/or total market collapse https://twitter.com/...
@alexhern @alexhern on x
I'm sure THIS time, the promise of a 20% risk-free annual return will absolutely come to pass. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@unusual_whales @unusual_whales on x
CoinFlex reportedly is planing to raise funds by issuing a new token. The token will have a 20% APR. They paused all withdraws 4 days ago. https://twitter.com/...
@freddieraynolds @freddieraynolds on x
TL;DR: someone supposedly wealthy and “high-integrity” missed margin calls and is in debt to CoinFLEX for $47M https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@bitfinexed @bitfinexed on x
That's a Bitfinex move if I ever seen one. https://twitter.com/...
@fatmanterra Fat Man on x
They also pitch a pivot into a new model with increased transparency, pseudonymous balance tracking, and public liquidation points. Little do they know, they just accidentally reinvented DeFi. https://twitter.com/...

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