Ben Pasternak / Believe / LAUNCHCOIN
Summary
Ben Pasternak (born September 6, 1999) is an Australian entrepreneur and the founder of Believe, a Solana-based token launchpad formerly known as Clout. The platform processed over $6 billion in cumulative trading volume and collected approximately $54 million in fees across three successive tokens — $PASTERNAK, $LAUNCHCOIN, and $BELIEVE — each of which collapsed by more than 99% from peak value. Pasternak faces a federal civil class action (Lee v. Pasternak, No. 1:26-cv-02368, SDNY) alleging a serial rug-pull scheme and a separate criminal indictment in New York, and was arrested in April 2026 on assault and strangulation charges related to an unrelated alleged domestic incident.
Connected Entities
1 entities · 10 linked investigationsTimeline(12 events)
2025-01-24
$PASTERNAK token launched on Solana; Pasternak publicly claims '0 ownership' of the token. Token reached an alleged market cap of ~$80M on its first day.
Phemex Academy — Ben Pasternak Lawsuit2025-04-29
$PASTERNAK token rebranded to $LAUNCHCOIN as the platform's native token.
CryptoManiaks — What Is Launch Coin On Believe?2025-05-01
$LAUNCHCOIN reaches peak market capitalization of approximately $370 million.
Phemex Academy — Ben Pasternak Lawsuit2025-05-01
Pasternak begins making public statements about a 'flywheel' buyback mechanism for $LAUNCHCOIN, making at least 12 such statements between May and October 2025 according to the civil complaint.
Crypto.news — Class Action Claims Believe Founder Collected $54M2025-10-15
Forced migration from $LAUNCHCOIN to $BELIEVE announced with a two-week window. Token supply increased from 1 billion to 1.33 billion, diluting holders by ~33%; newly minted tokens alleged to have been directed to insider wallets.
Phemex Academy — Ben Pasternak Lawsuit2025-10-29
Migration deadline passes; unconverted $LAUNCHCOIN tokens permanently burned.
KuCoin — 26-Year-Old Believe Founder Faces Criminal Charges2026-03-23
Burwick Law files federal class action Lee v. Pasternak (No. 1:26-cv-02368) in the Southern District of New York against Ben Pasternak, B24 Inc., and the Believe Foundation.
Burwick Law — Proof of Service Filed in Lee v. Pasternak2026-03-31
Alleged incident at the Baccarat Hotel in New York involving Pasternak and YouTube creator Evelyn Ha, the basis for subsequent assault and strangulation charges.
Crypto.news — Class Action Claims Believe Founder Collected $54M2026-04-22
Pasternak arrested in New York on charges of second-degree strangulation and two counts of third-degree assault in connection with the March 31 incident involving Evelyn Ha. Pleads not guilty.
The Block — Believe Founder Arrested on Strangulation Charges2026-04-22
$BELIEVE token collapses approximately 99% following Pasternak's arrest.
GNCrypto News — Ben Pasternak Arrested; Believe Token Collapses 99%2026-04-23
Decrypt and multiple outlets report the arrest; criminal indictment in SDNY related to the alleged crypto fraud scheme also reported across outlets around this period.
Decrypt — Founder of Solana Token Launchpad Believe Arrested2026-06-11
Pasternak's scheduled court appearance for the New York Criminal Court assault and strangulation charges.
Crypto.news — Class Action Claims Believe Founder Collected $54MDecision Log
- #1publish⛓ pending8/2/2026, 12:23:47 PMhash: FSGzvnm8RFxrVboHsdhrEAXP97ZpQ5noeGVqt1ETsLq3
14 of 15 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 8/2/2026, 12:23:37 PM
last updated: 8/2/2026, 7:33:28 PM
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