Roger Ver
{{Short description|Kittitian-Antiguan promoter of Bitcoin (born 1979)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Roger Ver
| image = Roger Ver.jpg
| caption = Ver, December 2016
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1979}}
| birth_place = San Jose, California, U.S.
| nationality = {{ublist|United States (until 2014)|Saint Kitts and Nevis (since 2014)|Antigua and Barbuda (since 2020)}}
| known_for = Promoting Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash
| movement = Libertarianism, anarcho-capitalism, Voluntaryism
| occupation = Entrepreneur
| website = {{URL|https://rogerver.com/|rogerver.com}}
}}
Roger Keith Ver (born 1979){{cn|date=March 2025}} is an entrepreneur who was an early investor in Bitcoin, Bitcoin-related startups and an early promoter of Bitcoin, and sometimes known as Bitcoin Jesus.{{Cite news|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2024/05/01/doj-charges-bitcoin-jesus-with-48-million-in-tax-fraud-seeks-extradition-.html|title=DOJ charges 'Bitcoin Jesus' with $48 million tax fraud, seeks extradition|last=Picciotto|first=Rebecca |date=1 May 2024|work=CNBC|access-date=2 May 2024|language=en-US|issn=}} He now primarily promotes Bitcoin Cash.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/25/business/dealbook/bitcoin-cash-split.html|title=Some Bitcoin Backers Are Defecting to Create a Rival Currency|last=Popper|first=Nathaniel|date=25 July 2017|work=The New York Times|access-date=28 July 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} He previously was CEO of Bitcoin.com.{{Cite web |title=Bitcoin Cash Advocate Roger Ver Considers Launching Own Exchange |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-09/bitcoin-cash-advocate-roger-ver-considers-launching-own-exchange |access-date=3 August 2019 |website=Bloomberg|date=9 October 2018 }}
In 2014, he renounced his United States citizenship after obtaining citizenship in Saint Kitts and Nevis citing libertarian beliefs and opposition to U.S. tax policies. He was indicted in April 2024 for income tax evasion in the US.{{Cite web |date=2024-12-04 |title=Lawyers for Silicon Valley's 'Bitcoin Jesus' say his tax case violates constitution |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/12/04/bitcoin-jesus-lawyers-say-his-tax-case-violates-constitution/ |access-date=2024-12-31 |website=The Mercury News |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title='Bitcoin Jesus' Lawyers Say His Tax Case Violates Constitution |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/bitcoin-jesus-lawyers-say-his-tax-case-violates-constitution/ar-AA1vdpAX |access-date=2024-12-31 |work=Bloomberg |via=www.msn.com}}
Early life and education
Ver was born in 1979 in San Jose, California. He attended Valley Christian High School and then De Anza College for one year, before dropping out to pursue his business interests.{{cn|date=January 2025}}
Ver attempted a run for the California State Assembly in the Libertarian Party. During a debate in the run-up to this election, he claimed that the Drug Enforcement Administration was criminal in its practice. He moved to Japan in 2005, where he maintained his residence as of 2021.{{cn|date=January 2025}}
Career
=MemoryDealers.com=
Ver was the CEO of MemoryDealers.com from 1999 until 2012.{{Cite news |url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/01/bitcoin-investor-who-renounced-us-citizenship-now-cant-get-back-in/?comments=1 |title=Bitcoin investor who renounced US citizenship now can't get back in |first=Cyrus |last=Farivar |access-date=28 December 2016 |date= 1 August 2015 |work=ArsTechnica |publisher=Wired Media Group }} In 2000, he attempted to enter politics by running for California State Assembly as a candidate for the Libertarian Party.{{cite web
|url=http://www.smartvoter.org/2000/03/07/ca/state/vote/ver_r/
|title=Voter Information for Roger K Ver
|last=SmartVoter
|publisher=League of Women Voters
|date=3 February 2000}}
=Cryptocurrency=
Ver began investing in bitcoin in early 2011.{{cite web |last1=Ver |first1=Roger |title=Biography |url=https://www.rogerver.com/bio/ |access-date=28 September 2021 |website=RogerVer.com }}{{Cite news |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2013/12/02/meet-bitcoin-jesus-a-virtual-currency-millionaire.html |title=Meet 'Bitcoin Jesus,' a virtual currency millionaire |first=Ansuya |last=Harjani |access-date=25 December 2016 |date=2 December 2013 |work=CNBC }} The first investment he made was for Charlie Shrem’s Bitinstant.{{Cite news |url=http://observer.com/2011/12/brooklyn-based-bitcoin-startup-bitinstant-raises-seed-round/ |title=Brooklyn-based Bitcoin Startup BitInstant Raises Seed Round |first=Adrianne |last=Jeffries |access-date=28 December 2016 |date=13 December 2011 |work=Observer |publisher=Observer Media }} Ver's investment allowed the company to hire a designer and another programmer.{{Cite news |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/charlie-shrem-arrested-bitcoin-ceo-2014-1 |title=Meet The 'Bitcoin Millionaire' Arrested for Allegedly Helping Silk Road Launder $US1 Million |first=Kyle |last=Russell |access-date=28 December 2016 |date=29 January 2014 |work=Business Insider Australia |publisher=Allure Media }} He invested over a million dollars into new Bitcoin-related startups, including Ripple, Blockchain.com, BitPay,{{cite news|last1=Lunden|first1=Ingrid|title=With PayPal-like Ambitions for Bitcoin, BitPay Raises $2M Led by Founders Fund|url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/05/16/an-offer-you-cant-refuse-bitcoin-startup-bitpay-raises-2m-led-by-founders-fund-the-vc-run-by-the-paypal-mafia/|access-date=14 August 2017|work=TechCrunch}} and Kraken.{{Cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-06-15/-bitcoin-jesus-calls-rich-to-tax-free-tropical-paradise |title='Bitcoin Jesus' Calls Rich to Tax-free Tropical Paradise |first1=Jason |last1=Clenfield |first2=Pavel |last2=Alpeyev |access-date=25 December 2016 |date=16 June 2014 |work=Bloomberg }} In 2011, Ver's company Memorydealers was the first to accept Bitcoin as payment.{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/2013/12/bitcoin_honey/ |title=How Bitcoin Became the Honey Badger of Money |first=Robert |last=McMillan |access-date=25 January 2017 |date=19 December 2013 |magazine=Wired |publisher=Conde Nast }} He has been a prominent supporter of Bitcoin adoption and saw Bitcoin as a means to promote economic freedom.
In 2012, Ver was organizing Bitcoin meetups in Sunnyvale, California.{{cite book |title=The Age of Cryptocurrency: How Bitcoin and Digital Money Are Challenging the Global Economic Order |last1=Vigna |first1=Paul |first2=Michael J. |last2=Casey |date=2015 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |isbn=978-1466873063 |pages=178, 268|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kv8CBAAAQBAJ |access-date=3 January 2017}} He is one of five founders of the Bitcoin Foundation.{{Cite news|title=Bitcoin Foundation is 'effectively bankrupt,' board member says|work=ArsTechnica|url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/04/bitcoin-foundation-is-effectively-bankrupt-board-member-says/|last=Farivar|first=Cyrus|date=7 April 2015|access-date=5 September 2019|publisher=Condé Nast}} Ver wants Bitcoin to rival major fiat currencies.
He is one of the main proponents of a larger block size for the Bitcoin blockchain. He supported the development of Bitcoin XT as a hard fork method towards an increase. Ver and his high school friend Jesse Powell attempted to re-establish the Mt Gox exchange during the June 2011 Bitcoin price crash.
Ver was CEO of Bitcoin.com{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/11/bitcoin-jesus-is-really-really-concerned-about-the-future-of-the-digital-currency.html|title='Bitcoin Jesus' is 'really, really concerned' about the future of the digital currency|last=Cheng|first=Evelyn|date=11 December 2017|website=CNBC|language=en|access-date=3 August 2019}} until 1 August 2019, when he transitioned to executive chairman. In early 2020, Fortune Magazine mistakenly referred to Ver as the co-creator of Bitcoin Cash.{{cite news|last1=Morris|first1=David|title=In Cryptocurrency, It's Bitcoiners vs. Everyone Else|url=https://fortune.com/2020/01/08/in-cryptocurrency-its-bitcoiners-vs-everyone-else/|access-date=2 February 2020|work=Fortune.com|date=8 January 2020}}
== CoinFlex ==
As of June 2022, he was a shareholder in CoinFLEX, a centralized yield crypto exchange and he is rumoured to be in a large amount of debt, which caused problems for the site.{{Cite news |date=2022-06-27 |title=Crypto Exchange CoinFlex to Issue Tokens After Withdrawal Freeze |language=en |work=Bloomberg.com |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-27/crypto-exchange-coinflex-to-issue-tokens-after-withdrawal-freeze |access-date=2022-06-28}}{{Cite web |last=FatManTerra |title=Ver had a long on BCH, and the platform allowed him to run a deficit because he personally guaranteed he would pay them back. |url=https://twitter.com/FatManTerra/status/1541778973511884802 |access-date=June 28, 2022 |website=Twitter}} On 23 June 2022, CoinFlex paused withdrawals after a counterparty, which it later named as Ver, experienced liquidity issues and failed to repay a $47 million stablecoin margin call.{{cite web |title=Crypto Exchange CoinFlex Won't Resume Withdrawals as Planned |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-30/crypto-exchange-coinflex-won-t-resume-withdrawals-as-planned |website=Bloomberg News |date=30 June 2022 |access-date=4 July 2022}}
==Book Publication==
In 2024, Ver self-published the book Hijacking Bitcoin about the history of Bitcoin.{{cite book |title=Hijacking Bitcoin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IAz8EAAAQBAJ | date=5 April 2024 |publisher=Publishdrive Incorporated | isbn=979-8-9894924-2-8 |access-date=6 January 2025}}
Personal life
Ver renounced his United States citizenship in 2014 after he became a citizen of Saint Kitts and Nevis.{{cite web |last=Minsky |first=David |date=16 January 2015 |title=U.S. Won't Let 'Bitcoin Jesus' Who Renounced His Citizenship Come to Miami for Conference |url=http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2015/01/miami_bitcoin_speaker_denied_visa_to_enter_his_home_country.php |publisher=Miami New Times (blog)}} In 2015, he was denied a visa to reenter the United States by the U.S. embassy in Barbados, which claimed that he had not sufficiently proven ties outside of the United States that would motivate him to leave at the end of his visit, causing fears he might become an illegal immigrant.{{cite news |last=Sparkes |first=Matthew |date=7 January 2015 |title=Millionaire 'Bitcoin Jesus' denied entry to the US |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/11330558/Millionaire-Bitcoin-Jesus-denied-entry-to-the-US.html |publisher=Telegraph (UK)}}{{cite web |last=Farivar |first=Cyrus |date=7 January 2015 |title=Bitcoin investor who renounced US citizenship now can't get back in: Roger Ver gave up US passport in favor of St. Kitts last year |url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/01/bitcoin-investor-who-renounced-us-citizenship-now-cant-get-back-in/ |publisher=Ars Technica}} Later in the same year his visa was approved by the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, and he visited the United States in 2017 to speak at a conference in Aspen, Colorado.{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Business/initial-coin-offerings-future-latest-investing-trend/story?id=50243351 |title=Initial Coin Offerings: A look at the future of the latest investing trend |publisher=ABC News |date=October 7, 2017}} Ver's name was published in the 2018 Q1 Quarterly Publication of Individuals Who Have Chosen to Expatriate.{{Cite web |date=8 May 2018 |title=Quarterly Publication of Individuals, Who Have Chosen to Expatriate, as Required by Section 6039G |url=https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/05/08/2018-09709/quarterly-publication-of-individuals-who-have-chosen-to-expatriate-as-required-by-section-6039g |access-date=23 July 2020 |website=Federal Register}} In 2019, Ver was denied a visa to travel to Australia. In 2020, Ver also became a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda.{{cite web |url=https://antiguanewsroom.com/antigua-government-says-roger-vers-charges-not-related-to-his-antigua-citizenship/ |title=Antigua Government says Roger Ver's charges not related to his Antigua citizenship |publisher=Antigua News Room |date=May 3, 2024}}
On his website, Ver describes himself as a libertarian and anarcho-capitalist.
Ver has competed in Brazilian jiu-jitsu championships.{{Citation |author=triforcebjj |title=Roger Ver vs David Garmo in 2013 BJJ World Championships |date=31 May 2013 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRuZ2Ftguow |access-date=2 October 2018}}{{Cite news |date=1 December 2017 |title=Roger Ver, World's First Investor in Bitcoin on His Passion for BJJ & Brown Belt |url=https://www.bjjee.com/articles/roger-ver-worlds-first-investor-in-bitcoin-on-his-passion-for-bjj-brown-belt/ |access-date=2 October 2018 |work=Bjj Eastern Europe |language=en-US}}{{dead link|date=March 2025}}
= Legal issues =
In 2002, Ver pleaded guilty to selling a form of pest control fireworks (deemed "explosive materials") without a license, as well as storing and mailing the material. Ver sold a brand called "Pest Control Report 2000" on eBay, this product was primarily used as a loud firecracker with the purpose of scaring away birds and other animals which might be deemed as pests on farmland. He was sentenced to 10 months in federal prison.{{cite web |date=2 May 2002 |title=San Jose, California Man Pleads Guilty to Selling Explosives on eBay |url=https://www.justice.gov/criminal/cybercrime/press-releases/2002/verPlea.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213142114/http://www.justice.gov/criminal/cybercrime/press-releases/2002/verPlea.htm |archive-date=13 February 2015 |publisher=U.S. Department of Justice, United States Attorney, Northern District of California}}{{Cite news |last=Raskin |first=Max |date=13 April 2013 |title=Meet the Bitcoin Millionaires |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-04-10/meet-the-bitcoin-millionaires |access-date=28 December 2016 |work=Bloomberg}} The manufacturer was later forced to stop making and selling the product, which contained powder exceeding the legal limit for such pest control firecrackers.{{cite web |date=January 17, 2003 |title=Missouri Company Ordered To Stop Manufacturing and Selling Illegal Fireworks |url=https://www.cpsc.gov/Newsroom/News-Releases/2003/Missouri-Company-Ordered-To-Stop-Manufacturing-and-Selling-Illegal-Fireworks |access-date=2023-03-04 |website=United States Consumer Product Safety Commission}}
He was arrested in Spain on U.S. tax evasion charges in April 2024.{{cite web |url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/early-bitcoin-investor-charged-tax-fraud |title=Early Bitcoin Investor Charged with Tax Fraud |publisher=United States Department of Justice |date=April 30, 2024}}{{Cite news |title='Bitcoin Jesus' Arrested in Spain for Evading U.S. Taxes |url=https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-today-earnings-04-30-2024/card/-bitcoin-jesus-arrested-in-spain-for-evading-u-s-taxes-7i03UGCeJMfUjCuO0N1G |access-date=2024-05-01 |work=WSJ |language=en-US}} In December 2024 Ver's attorneys filed to have the case dismissed and Ver was still in Spain (where he had been arrested by Spanish authorities) fighting extradition to the US.{{Cite news |title=Roger Ver's legal team moves to dismiss indictment citing government overreach |url=https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/roger-vers-legal-team-moves-dismiss-indictment-citing-government-overreach |access-date=2024-12-04 |work=Fox News |language=en-US}} In January 2025, Elon Musk tweeted that he had asked Donald Trump about the possibility of Ver receiving a pardon.{{Cite news |date=2025-01-22 |title=Musk seeks Trump pardon for 'Bitcoin Jesus,' charged with fraud |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250122-musk-seeks-trump-pardon-for-bitcoin-jesus-charged-with-fraud |access-date=2025-01-28 |work=France 24 |language=en |agency=AFP}} However, Elon Musk followed up with: “Roger Ver gave up his US citizenship, No pardon for Ver. Membership has its privileges.” {{Cite web |last=sjanifer |date=2025-02-04 |title=‘Bitcoin Jesus’ Hopes for Trump Pardon, Denies Fugitive Claim |url=https://tax.thomsonreuters.com/news/bitcoin-jesus-hopes-for-trump-pardon-denies-fugitive-claim/ |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=Thomson Reuters Tax & Accounting News |language=en-US}} In April 2025, Roger Ver paid Roger Stone $600,000 to Lobby for him in an effort to change the law that Roger was charged with violating {{Cite news |date=2025-04-24 |title=Indicted ‘Bitcoin Jesus’ Pays Roger Stone $600,000 to Lobby for Him|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/24/us/politics/stone-bitcoin-crypto-trump.html |access-date=2025-01-28 |work=The New York Times|language=en}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{cite web |url= https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2016/03/02/468953007/episode-687-buy-this-passport |title=Episode 687: Buy This Passport |publisher=Planet Money|date=10 March 2016}}
{{Bitcoin|state=expanded}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ver, Roger}}
Category:American anarcho-capitalists
Category:American emigrants to Japan
Category:American libertarians
Category:Businesspeople from San Jose, California
Category:De Anza College alumni
Category:Naturalised citizens of Saint Kitts and Nevis
Category:People associated with cryptocurrency