Chief executive of collapsed crypto fund HyperVerse does not appear to exist

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2y ago

Chief executive of collapsed crypto fund Hyperverse does not appear to exist

www.theguardian.com /technology/2024/jan/04/chief-executive-of-collapsed-crypto-fund-hyperverse-does-not-appear-to-exist

3 comments

The company promised at least 0.5% daily returns and people believed that? It doesn’t even seem like they described in any depth how they were generating those fantastical returns. The article says that investors lost 1.3b USD. I Sure, there are a lot of suckers out there but… 1.3b worth? ?? This shouldn’t shock me, I know.
(Edit: Corrected currency)
- A lot of investment in crypto ponzis is by people who know it is a ponzi, but want to roll the dice anyway. Who knows exactly how much.
  HyperVerse was promoted at the launch event as a new digital metaverse that would rival Facebook, where members could explore “the new frontier of a galactic universe and bring to life a complete virtual world”.
  In the video, Reece Lewis encouraged people to become early supporters of HyperVerse, saying the company would “create a parallel system of existence that will change how people live, how we interact with people around the world, and even how companies and corporations will conduct business”
  It does seem they were really pulling for the dum dums though
This is the best summary I could come up with:
A chief executive officer whose claimed qualifications appear to have no basis in fact was used to promote the HyperVerse crypto fund, alongside celebrity messages of support, as part of a push to recruit new investors into the scheme.
A man named Steven Reece Lewis was introduced as the chief executive officer of HyperVerse at an online global launch event in December 2021, with video messages of support from a clutch of celebrities released on Twitter the following month, including from the Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and actor Chuck Norris.
HyperVerse was promoted at the launch event as a new digital metaverse that would rival Facebook, where members could explore “the new frontier of a galactic universe and bring to life a complete virtual world”.
The launch video included a five-minute presentation near the beginning from a HyperVerse “compliance officer” on the terms and conditions of becoming a member, saying it was a “globally compliant company”, while warning that there was a “risk of loss” for those involved.
Following the online launch the company released video messages of support from celebrities on the Reece Lewis Twitter account, including the Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, actor Chuck Norris, comedian Jim Norton and boy band singer Lance Bass.
It is unclear how these messages of support were obtained, but all four celebrities are available to hire through the website Cameo, which allows people to pay high-profile individuals to read out a script for them, for anything from a birthday greeting to a business marketing video.
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