Blum Co-Founder Vladimir Smerkis Arrested in Moscow on Fraud Charges
Vladimir Smerkis, a co-founder of the Telegram-based crypto app Blum and formerly a senior figure at Binance, has been taken into custody in Moscow. Russian authorities have accused him of involvement in a major fraud case, raising concern among Blum’s users and across the crypto space.
Smerkis previously oversaw Binance’s operations in Russia and nearby countries within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Now, he faces serious allegations linked to his earlier ventures. While police haven’t publicly outlined all charges, local media reports suggest the case involves financial wrongdoing related to two crypto projects Smerkis co-founded in 2017 — The Token Fund and Tokenbox.
Figure1: Vladimir Smerkis (Source X)
Both of those ventures raised significant amounts during the ICO boom but eventually faded from the scene. Russian news sources claim investors lost nearly $15 million across the two projects. Although not confirmed officially, many believe Smerkis’ involvement in those ventures is central to the current investigation.
Blum Responds to Arrest with Leadership Update
Following the news of the arrest, Blum posted a message on its X account on 17 May, confirming that Smerkis had stepped away from his position as Chief Marketing Officer and no longer had any role in the project. The team thanked him for his earlier contributions and assured users that day-to-day activities would carry on uninterrupted.
Blum is known for blending crypto trading with simple mobile games through its Telegram Mini App. One of its most popular features, the Drop Game, launched in May 2024. In this game, users earned “Blum Points” by tapping snowflakes falling across their phone screens. These points were expected to be converted into BLUM tokens through a future distribution.
The game wrapped up on 14 May 2025, and many in the community are now waiting for the promised token release. Blum had previously stated the token generation event would happen during the second quarter of 2025 and hinted that the token might be listed in Q3. But the news of Smerkis’ arrest has left many uncertain about whether those plans are still on track.
Several users have begun asking for greater transparency from the team. Some have questioned whether the airdrop will go ahead at all, while others have asked the project to clarify what the next steps are and when they can expect to receive their tokens.
Blum Moves Ahead Despite Controversy
Despite the concerns, Blum has said the roadmap hasn’t changed. The team claims development is ongoing and that the project remains committed to delivering the token drop as originally planned. They’ve made it clear that Smerkis is no longer part of the organisation and that operations are continuing without disruption.
Figure2: Generated image of Vladimir Smerkis behind bars (Source Binance Square)
Blum was previously backed by Binance Labs under the Most Valuable Builder accelerator program. That early support helped attract attention and build trust among users. But now, with one of its co-founders under criminal investigation, some of that trust has been shaken.
Even though the legal case doesn’t directly involve Blum, the overlap with Smerkis’ history has cast a shadow over the project. In crypto, reputations matter — and when founders face serious legal trouble, it often affects how the community sees the entire project.
Blum now faces a clear challenge: keeping users engaged and reassured while distancing itself from the controversy. Whether it can restore confidence depends on how well it communicates in the coming weeks — and, more importantly, whether it follows through on its token airdrop.
Until the tokens are released and users see the value they’ve been promised, doubts will remain. Blum must now prove that it can deliver, regardless of the legal troubles faced by one of its former leaders.
