HEX founder Richard Heart detained in early morning raid in Istanbul, Starknet plunges almost 50% as it votes to become an L1, and Bitwise says all signs point to Crypto Spring.
The HEX market cap fell from $561 million to $315 million this week after founder Richard Schueler — better known to the crypto community as Richard Heart — was detained by authorities in Istanbul on October 14.
Police seized $7.15 million in cash along with firearms and ammunition during an early morning raid in Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district, alongside searches of 15 related addresses according to Turkish Justice Minister Akın Gürlek.
Police impounded nine luxury vehicles registered to Schueler’s wife according to news agency Anadolu. The haul reportedly included 28 watches, 300 bags and 19 graphics cards.
Interpol issued a “Red Notice” for Schueler’s two years ago over allegations of tax fraud and assault, after Finnish authorities sought his arrest.
A spokesperson for Finland’s National Bureau of Investigations declined to comment on the matter.
Turkish media refer to Schueler as “Whale James” and have linked him to a $1 billion unregistered securities offering in the US. However that case was dismissed by a US judge in February 2025.
Images circulating in Turkish media appear to show a surprised Heart with no trousers on, and the bottom half of his body blurred out, provoking much merriment on social media. Vocal Hex critic Eric Wall, who has debated Schueler on video and social media, said he initially thought the image was AI generated but now believes it is real:
Hex supporters claim that authorities are yet to confirm if Schueler has been formally arrested or charged.
Ledger unveiled a new device on Thursday with stronger protections against tampering, days after confirming that wallets sold through a reseller in Asia contained malicious implants.
The French hardware wallet maker introduced Atom, an $849 device that combines a crypto wallet with everyday apps through a smartphone-like design. Atom separates Android apps from sensitive wallet operations and includes protections Ledger says would block the implants used in the recent Asia incident. It claims to detect tampering even when switched off.
Expected to become available in summer 2027, Atom will also support AI agent approvals, encrypted messaging and post-quantum cryptography.Meanwhile a war of words has broken out between former Mt Gox CEO Mark Karpeles, and Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier. Kapeles claims that at least two people notified Leger of spyware discovered inside tampered Ledgers as far back as December 2025 — and notes the company had even written about the issue on its website in March 2026. He says the company failed to act properly to secure its reseller supply chains, which have now been suspended across Asia after more than $90 million was stolen.
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