HEX.com — self-described as “the world’s first high-interest blockchain certificate of deposit” – has made waves today as its native token (HEX) underwent a major dump.

Launched in late 2019, HEX is an ERC20 token intended as a store of value. It’s also designed to feed off the DeFi ecosystem within the Ethereum network — letting users earn high interest and claim “free Hex” by “staking” other digital assets.

In the last ten hours, during a 24-hour Livestream hosted by founder Richard Heart, the token price fell precipitously, dropping almost 20% on the day.

Release of Locked Tokens

The primary cause for this dump appears to be the release of locked HEX tokens from day one holders, offloading their (free) staked coins. The live stream may be an attempt to drum up buying interest so that other users would step in and buy the dip.

Although some predicted HEX’s price drop, Heart even tweeted, “HEXicans know that dips are to be expected and enjoyed” and that the community was “unfazed” by any weakness. Many on Twitter took the opportunity to criticize the project, which has long battled accusations of fraud.

The official HEX website does little to discourage such charges. It features numerous sensational statements, such as “HEX IS DESIGNED TO INCREASE IN VALUE FASTER THAN ANYTHING ELSE IN HISTORY,” and the project ran a controversial advertising campaign in the UK that claimed, “HEX’s price has gone up 11,500% in 129 days.”

In addition, well-known cryptocurrency advocate and educator Andreas Antonopoulos previously tweeted that HEX approached him:

“I’ve been offered 10BTC to do an interview about HEX to show that it is not a scam. I was not asked to disclose the payment. Draw your own conclusions.”

Despite accusations of plagiarism in April of this year, the crypto community generally venerates Antonopoulos who has a solid reputation. As for HEX’s founder, as BeInCrypto previously reported, he has something of a checkered past. This Reddit post lays out a number of the Heart’s past allegedly dishonest dealings.

Social Media Defenders

With so much smoke, it might be tempting to simply conclude that there is a fire. However, it should be noted that Heart responded to Antonopoulos’ claim. The project also has numerous defenders on Twitter.

And according to another analyst, HEX may be an unregistered security offering but is not a Ponzi scheme. This is an ongoing story that will be updated.