The token traded near $0.0006 on Thursday, reducing its market capitalization by more than $160 million from above $500 million a day earlier to roughly $340 million during the selloff. HEX previously traded above $0.40 during the 2021 crypto bull market.
Turkish reports said Heart and his wife were detained Wednesday in Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district during an operation involving police and Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization. Authorities reportedly seized electronic devices, hardware wallets, luxury items, cash and firearms during searches connected to the operation.
Why Did Richard Heart’s Detention Hit HEX So Hard?
The scale of the decline points to substantial key-person risk surrounding Heart and the ecosystem he built around HEX, PulseChain and PulseX.
Although HEX exists as a blockchain token and its smart contracts can continue operating without its founder being physically present, Heart has remained the most recognizable public figure associated with the project. A legal event affecting him can therefore change investor expectations even without a technical failure, trading halt or change to the underlying contract.
The reaction also spread beyond Ethereum-based HEX. Market data on Wednesday showed particularly sharp losses across assets associated with the PulseChain ecosystem, including PulseChain HEX and PulseX, suggesting traders were repricing exposure to the wider group of projects rather than responding to a problem with one token contract.
HEX has experienced similar founder-related volatility before. When the SEC filed its original case against Heart in July 2023, the token fell roughly 25% as traders reacted to allegations involving more than $1 billion of crypto offerings.
Investor Takeaway
HEX’s decline is primarily a repricing of founder risk. No protocol failure is required for a token closely associated with one individual to suffer a severe confidence shock.
What Is Finland Investigating?
The Istanbul detention is separate from Heart’s former U.S. securities case.
Finnish police began investigating suspected aggravated tax fraud in 2024 after alleging that the suspect had avoided taxes amounting to hundreds of millions of euros. Police later determined that he had left Finland.
During that investigation, authorities searched a property in Espoo and seized around 20 luxury watches valued at more than €2.6 million. FinanceFeeds reported the Finnish seizure in January 2025, when authorities said some of the watches had previously appeared in online videos used to project an image of wealth.
A Red Notice was subsequently issued at Finland’s request. Such a notice asks law-enforcement authorities in other countries to locate and provisionally detain a wanted person pending possible extradition or similar proceedings. It does not constitute a conviction or an international arrest warrant by itself.
Turkish authorities would therefore handle any further detention or extradition process under applicable domestic and bilateral procedures.
What Happened to the SEC Case Against Heart?
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Heart, HEX, PulseChain and PulseX in July 2023, alleging that more than $1 billion had been raised through unregistered crypto asset securities offerings.
The regulator also accused Heart and PulseChain of misappropriating at least $12 million of proceeds to purchase luxury goods including sports cars, Rolex watches and a 555-carat black diamond.
U.S. District Judge Carol Bagley Amon dismissed the lawsuit in February 2025 after finding that the SEC had not established sufficient connections between the alleged conduct and the United States. The ruling centered on jurisdiction and did not determine the Finnish tax allegations now connected with Heart’s reported detention.
The SEC was allowed to amend its complaint but told the court in April 2025 that it would not do so, ending the U.S. litigation.
Investor Takeaway
The closed SEC case and Finland’s investigation are legally separate. For HEX holders, the immediate risk is uncertainty over Heart’s status and its effect on confidence and liquidity.
What Should HEX Traders Watch Next?
The next important development is whether Turkish authorities provide formal details on Heart’s custody status and whether Finland pursues extradition.
Traders should also watch liquidity rather than price alone. HEX trading volumes increased sharply during the decline, but the token remains far less liquid than major crypto assets. Thin liquidity can magnify both forced selling and short-lived rebounds when sentiment changes quickly.
The key distinction is that the reported detention has not been tied to a failure of the HEX smart contract or an interruption of blockchain operations. The market is instead placing a lower value on an ecosystem whose identity, promotion and investor community have remained unusually closely connected to its founder.
