# Richard Heart

> Richard Heart is a cryptocurrency entrepreneur and influencer known for founding Hex, PulseChain, and PulseX.

- Canonical URL: https://iq.wiki/wiki/richard-heart
- Categories: People in crypto
- Tags: Ethereum, Bitcoin, Founder, Influencer
- Created: 2026-10-14T14:27:26.476Z
- Last updated: 2026-10-14T14:38:47.392Z
- Source: IQ.wiki — the world's largest blockchain and crypto encyclopedia (https://iq.wiki)

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**Richard Heart** (born **Richard James Schueler**) is an American entrepreneur, author, and [cryptocurrency](https://iq.wiki/wiki/cryptocurrency) figure best known as the founder of HEX, PulseChain, and PulseX. He launched HEX, an [Ethereum](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum)-based cryptocurrency with a staking mechanism, in December 2019, followed by PulseChain, an Ethereum-derived blockchain network, and PulseX, a decentralized exchange, in 2023. Heart is also the author of _SciVive_, a self-help book, and is known for his outspoken cryptocurrency commentary and online presence. On October 14, 2026, Turkish media reported that he was detained in Istanbul with his wife in an operation linked to an Interpol Red Notice issued at Finland’s request. [\[1\]](#cite-id-gidt9xp90c)  [\[2\]](#cite-id-rde25oebkm) 

## Early Career

In its 2023 complaint, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said that Heart had claimed to found and manage internet businesses, including one with 150 employees and annual sales of $60 million.[[3]](#cite-id-od0ushvv8p) A biography published by PulseChain says he had businesses with annual turnover of $60 million by age 20 and retired at 25. It says that after retiring he published free self-improvement material, later issued as _SciVive_, addressing habits such as gambling and excessive drinking.[[4]](#cite-id-hxt80hzspu)​

Heart has also said that he began participating in [Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin) around 2010 and spent years studying the technology. The PulseChain biography describes him as initially skeptical of [Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin) as a payments system, later viewing it as a store of value, and [mining](https://iq.wiki/wiki/mining) it on a home computer.[[4]](#cite-id-hxt80hzspu)​

Before entering [cryptocurrency](https://iq.wiki/wiki/cryptocurrency), Heart was involved in unsolicited email marketing. Protos reported that a district court judge found he had illegally spammed people to generate leads and sales and that he lost a lawsuit concerning unsolicited email practices in 2002.[[5]](#cite-id-axz4erbadl)​

## Cryptocurrency Projects

### Hex

Heart first marketed Hex publicly at the Crypto Finance Live conference in November 2018. The SEC later described Hex as an Ethereum-based [ERC-20](https://iq.wiki/wiki/erc-20) token that Heart promoted as a high-yield “[blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain) certificate of deposit.” Its token offering ran from December 2019 through November 2020.[[3]](#cite-id-od0ushvv8p)​[[6]](#cite-id-uumg0fjhvh)​

Hex’s [staking](https://iq.wiki/wiki/staking) feature allowed holders to lock tokens for periods ranging from one day to 15 years. According to the SEC complaint, the [smart contract](https://iq.wiki/wiki/smart-contract) returned the staked amount with additional Hex calculated as “interest,” which accrued during the lock-up. Heart promoted the feature as a way to reduce the [circulating supply](https://iq.wiki/wiki/circulating-supply) and claimed an average annual return of 38 percent.[[3]](#cite-id-od0ushvv8p)​[[7]](#cite-id-q8n5uh6gjp)​

The complaint said that participants sent ether (ETH) to a Hex contract and received tokens according to a distribution mechanism Heart called the “Adoption Amplifier.” It also described a “BigPayDay” rewards event at the end of the offering, which distributed unclaimed Hex and other bonuses to stakers. Heart arranged [airdrops](https://iq.wiki/wiki/airdrop) to wallets he identified as belonging to large [Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin) and ETH holders; recipients who accepted the airdropped tokens were required to stake 90 percent of them.[[3]](#cite-id-od0ushvv8p)​

The SEC alleged that the Hex offering collected more than 2.3 million ETH, worth more than $678 million at the time of deposit. It further alleged that 94 to 97 percent of the deposits were routed through intermediary wallets and trading platforms before returning to the Hex contract, a process the complaint called “recycling.” The SEC said the transactions gave Heart or other insiders control of additional Hex tokens while creating an inaccurate impression of organic demand and trading activity.[[3]](#cite-id-od0ushvv8p)​[[7]](#cite-id-q8n5uh6gjp)​

Heart continued promoting Hex after its offering ended, including through online videos and websites. The SEC complaint said that an interface Heart developed, Ethhex.com, linked users to Uniswap for secondary-market purchases; the court later noted that the complaint did not allege that Heart controlled or participated in Uniswap transactions.[[3]](#cite-id-od0ushvv8p)​[[8]](#cite-id-zcvobprr4b)​

### PulseChain and PulseX

Heart began developing PulseChain after the Hex offering. The SEC described PulseChain as an [Ethereum](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum) [fork](https://iq.wiki/wiki/fork) with its own native token, PLS, and said the network was publicly launched on May 12, 2023. Heart promoted it as a faster, lower-cost alternative to [Ethereum](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum). Participants in a fundraising offering deposited [cryptocurrency](https://iq.wiki/wiki/cryptocurrency) at a designated address in exchange for promised PLS tokens, which they received when the network launched.[[3]](#cite-id-od0ushvv8p)​[[8]](#cite-id-zcvobprr4b)​

The PulseChain offering began in July 2021 and was unofficially extended into April 2022. The SEC said it identified deposits worth more than $354 million. Heart described the deposits as “sacrifices,” rather than investments, and promoted the possibility of substantial returns; the complaint cited his estimate that PLS could appreciate 14,000-fold.[[3]](#cite-id-od0ushvv8p)​[[8]](#cite-id-zcvobprr4b)​

PulseX was developed as a decentralized trading platform for PulseChain and was based on a [fork](https://iq.wiki/wiki/fork) of Uniswap. Its native token is PLSX. The offering ran from December 2021 into February 2022 and was also unofficially extended into April; the SEC said it identified deposits worth more than $676 million. Heart promoted potential appreciation for PLSX and said that depositing Hex during the offering would reduce Hex’s [circulating supply](https://iq.wiki/wiki/circulating-supply).[[3]](#cite-id-od0ushvv8p)​[[8]](#cite-id-zcvobprr4b)​

## SEC Enforcement Case

On July 31, 2023, the SEC filed a civil enforcement action against Heart and the three unincorporated entities it said he controlled: Hex, PulseChain, and PulseX. The agency alleged that the projects had conducted unregistered offerings of crypto-asset securities that raised more than $1 billion in crypto assets. It also charged Heart and PulseChain with fraud, alleging that Heart misappropriated at least $12 million in offering proceeds for luxury purchases.[[7]](#cite-id-q8n5uh6gjp)​[[6]](#cite-id-uumg0fjhvh)​[[9]](#cite-id-jpizaos7wh)​

The SEC’s complaint alleged that Heart transferred about $217 million from the PulseChain offering address to a private wallet and did not disclose the transfer or the alleged use of investor assets for personal purchases. The complaint cited cars and watches among the purchases and alleged that approximately $5 million in investor assets was used to buy “The Enigma,” a 555-carat black diamond, at auction in 2022.[[3]](#cite-id-od0ushvv8p)​[[7]](#cite-id-q8n5uh6gjp)​

The SEC alleged violations of the registration provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and antifraud provisions of federal securities laws. Its complaint sought injunctions, disgorgement, civil penalties, and other relief. These were allegations in the agency’s complaint, not findings that the alleged conduct had been proven.[[6]](#cite-id-uumg0fjhvh)​[[3]](#cite-id-od0ushvv8p)​

### Service and Defense Arguments

The SEC asked Finland’s Ministry of Justice for assistance serving Heart in August 2023 and, according to a later court update, had not received confirmation. The court moved a pretrial conference from November 28, 2023, to January 30, 2024. The SEC later told the court it had completed substitute service in December 2023; Heart’s lawyers challenged that service as invalid.[[11]](#cite-id-btj0devu1d)​[[12]](#cite-id-meqts5kxk4)​

In January 2024, Heart’s attorneys argued that the court lacked personal jurisdiction, that the alleged transactions were not adequately pleaded as domestic, and that the complaint did not allege promises or an investment contract. They also framed the case as implicating speech about open-source software. These were litigation arguments advanced by Heart’s attorneys.[[12]](#cite-id-meqts5kxk4)​

In February 2025, Judge Carol Bagley Amon of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York dismissed all claims against Heart, finding that the court lacked specific personal jurisdiction over him. The court concluded that the complaint did not show that Heart’s online activity was expressly directed at the United States or that the alleged securities transactions were domestic under the applicable legal tests. The ruling addressed jurisdiction and the sufficiency of the alleged U.S. connections; it did not establish that the SEC’s allegations were false.[[8]](#cite-id-zcvobprr4b)​[[10]](#cite-id-8xcql6mw3k)​

The SEC did not amend its complaint by the court-ordered April 21, 2025 deadline, ending the case. Heart’s lawyer called the outcome “a complete victory,” while Heart described it as a victory for [cryptocurrency](https://iq.wiki/wiki/cryptocurrency) and open-source software.[[10]](#cite-id-8xcql6mw3k)​[[1]](#cite-id-gidt9xp90c)​

## Finnish Proceedings and Detention in Türkiye

Finnish authorities sought Heart in connection with alleged tax fraud and assault. An Interpol Red Notice issued at Finland’s request in 2024 reportedly listed aggravated tax fraud; reports also said Finnish authorities had sought him over an alleged assault. A Red Notice is a request to law-enforcement agencies worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition or similar legal action, rather than an international arrest warrant.[[1]](#cite-id-gidt9xp90c)​[[5]](#cite-id-axz4erbadl)​

On October 14, 2026, Turkish news reports said Istanbul police and the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) detained Heart in the Beşiktaş district, where authorities had reportedly monitored his address. Reports said Heart’s wife was also detained.[[1]](#cite-id-gidt9xp90c)​[[2]](#cite-id-rde25oebkm)​