Richard Heart (born Richard James Schueler in the United States) is the creator of HEX, PulseChain, and PulseX. HEX, launched in 2019, is a Time Deposit system on Ethereum where users lock tokens to earn interest; Heart positioned it as “the first blockchain certificate of deposit.” PulseChain is an Ethereum fork launched in 2023. The three projects collectively raised billions of dollars from retail investors and produced enormous returns for early adopters while later buyers experienced significant losses. In July 2023, the SEC filed charges against Heart and the three projects for securities fraud and wire fraud.
Background and Identity
Public information:
- Real name: Richard James Schueler
- American; lived in Finland for years (reportedly for tax purposes)
- Background before crypto: Domain name speculation, internet marketing
- Known for: Luxury goods collection (Richard Mille watches, Hermès Birkins), lavish lifestyle content, extremely confident marketing claims
Online persona:
Heart built a substantial YouTube following with videos covering: why HEX is superior to other assets, Bitcoin criticism, crypto market analysis, and lifestyle content. His marketing style is characterized by extreme self-confidence and direct attacks on competing projects.
HEX
Launched: December 2019 on Ethereum
Mechanism:
- Users lock ETH → receive HEX tokens (via the “sacrifice” event + subsequent mint)
- HEX holders can “stake” (lock) their HEX tokens for up to 5,555 days in a time deposit
- Stakers earn interest paid in new HEX minted from a fixed emission schedule
- Early stake completions: at stake end, receive staked amount + interest
- “Late end stake” penalties: holds late for too long? Lose a portion to other stakers
Origins mechanism:
The initial HEX distribution used “transformations”: Ethereum holders could transform their ETH to HEX at a fixed rate. Untransformed supply was distributed to a “Adoption Amplifier” that burned claimed ETH and added to HEX pool. Heart received 10% of all minted HEX as the “origin address.”
HEX price performance:
- Launched near zero
- Reached all-time high of ~$0.50 in 2021 (massive percentage gain from launch price)
- Fell to ~$0.003 by 2023-2024 (99%+ decline from peak)
- Heart maintains HEX performed better than Bitcoin from any fair start date
PulseChain
Launched: May 2023; EVM fork of Ethereum
- Uses PROOF-of-STAKE (copied Ethereum’s PoS);
- Forked entire Ethereum state at a block height: all Ethereum token balances were copied to PulseChain at launch
- PLS = native token; given free to those who “sacrificed” (donated to a point system that determined PLS allocation)
- Heart claims PulseChain will reduce Ethereum congestion by providing an alternative EVM chain
Sacrifice mechanics:
- Before launch, Heart ran “Sacrifice Phases” where people sent crypto to a wallet and received points
- Points determined PLS airdrop allocation
- Legal framing: “You are not buying PLS; you are donating to free speech / Richard Heart”
- SEC viewed this as an unregistered securities sale
PulseX
PulseX is a Uniswap v2 fork on PulseChain:
- AMM DEX for PulseChain tokens
- Also had a Sacrifice Phase for PLSX allocation
SEC Charges (2023)
July 2023: SEC filed civil charges against Heart, HEX, PulseChain, and PulseX:
- Unregistered securities offerings (the Sacrifice Phases and HEX offerings)
- Wire fraud (specifically: Heart allegedly moved $12M of sacrificed BTC to a personal account)
- Heart announced he strongly disputes all charges
- Case ongoing; Heart stated he would fight rather than settle
- Heart has remained outside the United States; as of reporting, not extradited
Heart’s defense:
- HEX is not a security; it’s software you interact with
- Free speech sacrifice is not a securities offering
- “Richard Heart has never sold you anything” (the “origin address” 10% was received, not sold from)
The SEC case is actively contested and unresolved; readers should follow current developments.
Controversy
Heart is among the most polarizing figures in crypto:
Supporters argue:
- HEX delivered extraordinary percentage gains for early holders
- Heart’s marketing is honest (he says HEX is speculative, he admits to his cut)
- The protocol delivers what it promises (time deposit mechanics function as designed)
- The lifestyle content is aspirational, not manipulative
Critics argue:
- HEX is designed to benefit Heart (10% origin address) at cost of later buyers
- The Sacrifice Phases are textbook securities fraud rebranded with legal maneuvering
- Price charts show a pump-and-dump pattern that hurt retail investors financially
- The “donate to free speech” framing is a deliberate attempt to circumvent securities law
Related Terms
Sources
Howell, S., Niessner, M., & Yermack, D. (2020). Initial Coin Offerings: Financing Growth with Cryptocurrency Token Sales. Review of Financial Studies.
Griffin, J. M., & Shams, A. (2020). Is Bitcoin Really Untethered? Journal of Finance.
Makarov, I., & Schoar, A. (2020). Trading and Arbitrage in Cryptocurrency Markets. Journal of Financial Economics.
Coups, B. (2023). SEC v. Heart: Why “Free Speech Sacrifice” May Not Be a Legal Defense. Stanford Law Review Online.
SEC vs. HEX, PulseChain, PulseX, and Richard Heart. (2023). SEC Complaint No. 1:23-cv-07174. United States District Court SDNY.