BlockDAG’s $433M Presale in Crisis After ZachXBT Links Founder to Past Scams

The $433 million pre-sale of blockchain project BlockDAG may face a major credibility crisis after on-chain researcher ZachXBT claimed that the person behind the project may not be the publicly presented CEO and could have ties to previous crypto controversies.

The dispute began earlier this week when BlockDAG’s official X account posted a promotional message titled “The VALUE ERA Starts Tomorrow – A Message From Our CEO, Antony Turner.”

In the post, Turner announced the start of a new phase for the project, promising “scarcity, fairness and real value” while revealing that all pre-sale bonuses would end, final tokenomics would be published, and an official pre-sale end date would be announced.

He urged investors to make “last purchases” before what he described as “the moment when everything changes.”

Shortly after the announcement, ZachXBT, known for exposing crypto scams and fraudulent ventures, responded publicly.

A $430 Million Pre-Sale and an Alleged Hidden Founder: What’s Really Going on at BlockDAG?

ZachXBT claimed that BlockDAG’s supposed CEO was merely a paid frontman for Gurhan Kiziloz, a British entrepreneur previously associated with failed fintech and crypto ventures. “Stop lying,” Zach wrote.

“The con artist Gurhan Kiziloz is the real co-founder secretly behind BlockDAG, paying people like Antony Turner to be the face while transferring millions in pre-sale funds from private investors through Middle Eastern OTC brokers.”

ZachXBT later added that BlockDAG blocked him on

When asked for evidence, he cited documents from offshore entities and claimed that the name “Gurhan Kiziloz” was banned in BlockDAG’s Telegram group, where any mention would result in automatic deletion or user restriction.

The accusations come as questions surrounding BlockDAG’s legitimacy grow. The project, which claims to combine Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) technology with Proof-of-Work mining for higher scalability, has attracted attention due to its unusually long-term pre-sales.

Initially scheduled to end in June and then postponed until August, the token launch is now postponed indefinitely.

Despite claiming to have raised over $430 million as of early 2024, the project has yet to deliver a mainnet or confirm stock market listings.

Concerns about misleading marketing have also surfaced. In July, BlockDAG announced that the presale would end on August 11 at a token price of $0.0016, calling it the “last chance” for buyers.

However, months later, the tokens are still sold at lower prices and the pre-sale continues.

Critics suggest this could be a deliberate tactic to maintain hype and attract new investors while avoiding a public launch.

Audit gaps, pre-sale delays and user complaints cast a shadow on BlockDAG’s operations

BlockDAG’s official materials state that the project is managed by DAG Systems Ltd., registered in Seychelles. The team is led by Antony Turner, a fintech entrepreneur, together with CTO Jeremy Harkness and security expert Dr. Youssef Khaoulaj.

The company’s website claims that the project has been reviewed by Halborn and CertiK, although both companies reportedly only reviewed the acquisition contracts and not the mainnet itself.

The project’s whitepaper outlines ambitious technical goals, including 10,000 transactions per second and an EVM-compatible launch platform for decentralized applications.

It also describes the token allocation: 50% to miners, 33.3% to presale participants and only 1% to the team. The team has promoted a ‘road to Binance list’, but no official exchange partnerships have been confirmed.

Trustpilot ratings reflect growing skepticism, with nearly 60% of users rating the project negatively. Several users have complained about repeated launch delays and inconsistent communication from the team.

The lack of verifiable progress reports, combined with continued pre-sales, has heightened fears that BlockDAG could function more as a high-return investment program than a legitimate blockchain initiative.

Gurhan Kiziloz’s troubled history in Fintech and Crypto

The controversy surrounding Gurhan Kiziloz further complicates BlockDAG’s image. A self-described tech entrepreneur, Kiziloz previously founded fintech startup Lanistar confronted a regulatory warning from the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in 2020 for unauthorized activity.

The FCA warning was later withdrawn, but the company still faced allegations of mismanagement, unpaid wages, fake reviews and a toxic workplace culture.

Kiziloz was too involved in the cryptocurrency project Big Eyes Coin, a meme token that raised more than $40 million in 2023 before collapsing shortly after launch.

Investors accused the team of misleading marketing, lack of transparency and failure to deliver purchased tokens.

Beyond fintech, Kiziloz heads Nexus International Holdings, which runs the crypto-integrated online casino brand Spartans(.)com and operates gaming platforms such as Megaposta.

While these ventures have generated significant revenue, its history in both crypto and fintech has come under scrutiny due to repeated controversies and questions about investor protection.

As of mid-October, BlockDAG continues to promote its “Value Era” marketing campaign, insisting that it is entering a new phase of development.

However, the timing of ZachXBT’s revelations has cast serious doubt on the project’s leadership and the integrity of its pre-sales.

The post BlockDAG’s $433M Presale in Crisis After ZachXBT Links Founder to Previous Scam appeared first on Cryptonews.

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