A New York court filing accuses the Believe crypto platform of running token launches that wiped out retail buyers.
Ben Pasternak, the Sydney-born crypto founder who once made a name for himself with Monkey and the plant-based nugget maker Simulate, is now being sued in New York over claims that his Believe crypto platform ran a token scheme that left buyers holding the bag.
The Australian Financial Review reports the complaint claims the platform processed more than $6 billion in trading volume and generated tens of millions of dollars in fees while token prices fell sharply.
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The lawsuit, filed March 23 in the Southern District of New York, says Pasternak told early buyers they had “0 ownership” issues and that platform revenue would be used for buybacks. It also alleges he encouraged holders to keep their tokens even as prices dropped.
None of the allegations are proven yet, and Pasternak hasn’t publicly commented in the filing.
What is Believe Crypto Launchpad
At one moment, Believe made it very easy to launch a coin through X, with users able to mint tokens by replying to posts. Having rebranded from Clout.me to Believe, activity on the platform spiked quickly.
- One of its core tokens surged more than 4,000% in a matter of days, briefly reaching a market value of about $350 million.
- The platform’s revenue also jumped from just a few thousand dollars a day to over $1 million within the same week, according to data from DefiLlama.
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