The co-founder of the startup behind last year’s Bella Hadid-themed NFT collection is suing his business partner for $77 million, accusing him of “going rogue,” stealing millions in crypto and taking control of the company.
Krzysztof Gagacki, co-founder of online NFT game Rebase, alleged that Edmond Truong stole about $2 million in crypto in October from a wallet they both controlled, according to a 22-page document filed in a US court this week. Truong also allegedly excluded Gagacki from the company’s operations, including initiating talks to issue Rebase’s planned token on the Arbitrum blockchain without his co-founder’s knowledge.
Truong “has removed Mr. Gagacki from their joint venture and now holds himself out to third parties as the sole owner and decision maker of the Rebase app,” the filing claims.
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Gagacki estimates Rebase is worth more than $150 million and is seeking at least $77 million in damages plus interest.
Rebase responded to an email sent to the support address, “The news is not true and contains misinformation that is spreading in the market.” It was not clear who responded to the request for comment. When pressed on which part of the legal filing was false, Rebase did not immediately respond.
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Truong did not respond to a LinkedIn message seeking comment.
The conflict between the co-founders is the latest in a young industry that is generally led by younger managers with little professional experience who are in conflict. Umami Labs is in the midst of an internal battle and former FTX USA president Brett Harrison resigned last year in part as a result of a “longstanding disagreement” with CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
Bella Hadid NFT project
Hadid launched a collection of 11,111 NFTs last year. The collection, known as CY-B3LLA, featured artwork based on 3D scans of the American supermodel’s face and body. The project currently appears to be dormant, with the website URL dead and its Twitter account unused since October.
Hadid received about $1.5 million for her involvement in the project, according to court filings this week.
The case is number 2:23-cv-02876 in the US District Court for the Central District of California.
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