Charges Dropped Against BitClout Founder

U.S. authorities have dropped charges against Nader Al-Naji, founder of BitClout, a decentralized social network, as shown in court documents.

In 2022, federal prosecutors charged him with wire fraud, alleging he defrauded investors of $3 million through his crypto project. The Department of Justice claimed Al-Naji lied to gain access to funds, misappropriating investor money for personal expenses.

On February 28, U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry J. Ricardo granted a request from federal prosecutors in New York to withdraw the complaint against Al-Naji without prejudice. Similarly, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also moved to drop civil fraud charges against him, which asserted that Al-Naji orchestrated a fraudulent scheme involving crypto assets and used the funds for personal gain.

Neither the SEC nor the DOJ responded to inquiries from Decrypt.

Al-Naji, a former Google engineer, launched BitClout, which aimed to tokenize Twitter personalities, allowing users to earn money based on their social media following. The project attracted investments from notable firms like Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase Ventures, and the Winklevoss twins of Gemini. Some users criticized BitClout for slow launches and execution issues.

Edited by Andrew Hayward