TL;DR Breakdown
- Sina Estavi lists Jack Dorsey Tweet NFT for $48 million shortly after being released from prison.
- Estavi asks BRG (Bridge Oracle project) investors to trust him again.
After two failed cryptocurrency ventures and nine months in prison, Sina Estavi is attempting a comeback. He bought the non-fungible token (NFT) of Jack Dorsey’s first-ever tweet for $2.9 million.
He’s apparently asking the same people to put their faith in him again. The NFT might go for around $280, according to reports. Last Monday, however, the current owner of the NFT listed it for $48 million.
Sina Estavi asks investors to trust him one more time
In March 2021, Iranian-born crypto entrepreneur Sina Estavi bought the NFT for $2.9 million. Last Thursday, he announced his intention to sell the NFT on Twitter, stating that half of its earnings (which he expected to be over $25 million) would go to charity. The auction concluded on Wednesday, with seven bids ranging from 0.09 ETH ($277 at current prices) to 0.0019 ETH (nearly $6).
After the arrest of Sina Estavi in Iran in May 2021 on charges of destabilizing the economic system, his CryptoLand exchange folded. Customers were unable to access their money, and the value of his Bridge Oracle project’s BRG token plummeted due to his arrest.
The crypto entrepreneur imprisoned is now attempting to make things right with those holding nearly worthless cryptocurrency tokens. Sina created these coins on the Tron network.
Sina Estavi discusses the impact of his arrest and the month he spent in solitary confinement as emotionally traumatic. Estavi claims to be a victim of cryptocurrency, but he says he’s back even stronger than before.
He also stated that he intends to reimburse his investors, even though the cryptocurrency slump has made this a challenge. However, some of his original investors and crypto watchdogs were furious after seeing how quickly he flashed back to the crypto industry.
Estavi was taken into custody last year, and Iranian authorities seized his assets. After Estavi’s arrest, the BRG plummeted, leaving investors with nothing. Customers of his exchange had no better luck. In July 2021, Iranians in CryptoLand allegedly took to the streets to express their dissatisfaction with losing their money. It is uncertain how much money was kept on the exchange before it shut down.
Estavi was released from jail without explanation after nine months, and the charges against him dropped. Since then, he has been able to access his social media profiles. He also obtained verification Badges for his personal Twitter account and the Bridge Oracle account.
Once bitten, twice shy
Estavi has offered to exchange holders of the previous version of BSG for a new edition that runs on the Binance Smart Chain. The new BRG, unlike its namesake token, can be traded on several exchanges.
There is also the question of whether Estavi will honor its promise to exchange investors’ old tokens for new ones. On the same day that Sina Estavi tweeted about Dorsey’s NFT sale, he announced the token swap on Twitter. He claims that he will do the swap manually, and it might take up to two months to finish.
He wants the original BRG investors to provide him with their phone numbers and some TRX tokens (the network’s native currency) to prove their ownership. He says he’ll send them new tokens and the TRX coins for verification within two months.
Several Bridge Oracle investors expressed uncertainty for a variety of reasons. For example, Estavi began and marketed the new token before figuring out how to repay people in the old one.
Investors are apprehensive because, according to them, Sina Estavi did not offer clear information about the potential swap until after being pestered with questions about it. The swap was made official following last week’s news that he’d put the Dorsey NFT up for sale.
Estavi has listed the digital collectible on OpenSea for a staggering $48.8 million, more than 16 times what he paid for it last year. The highest bid was a paltry $280 when the sale ended. Estavi stated that he might keep the asset following the downturn.
The whole scenario meets cautious investors who refuse to believe false promises. To ensure they get their money back, a group of BRC holders have formed a Telegram channel. Many of these investors claim that Sina Estavi is deliberately manipulating the crypto community to become rich.
Sina Estavi’s early release has raised eyebrows in the crypto community. Meanwhile, investors who held the original BRG coins were starting to worry because there was no indication if or when they would be able to exchange their old tokens for new ones.
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