Richard Heart allegedly funnels $500M in ETH through Tornado Cash
Richard Heart, also known as Schueler, is facing allegations of mixing over $500 million worth of ETH through Tornado Cash. Wallets linked to HEX, Pulsechain, and PulseX are accused of transferring large amounts of ETH via mixers in recent weeks. Heart has a history of familiarity with crypto asset mixers, as alleged by the US SEC, and earlier lawsuits accused him of using mixers to create artificial trading volume for HEX. Finnish law enforcement has also issued a notice for Heart concerning alleged tax evasion. While the SEC case against him was dismissed, blockchain analytics users and the SEC continue to monitor wallets suspected to be linked to him.
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Massive ETH Transactions Linked to Richard Heart
Richard Heart has been making headlines due to allegations that wallets linked to the launch of HEX, Pulsechain, and PulseX are mixing over $500 million worth of ETH through Tornado Cash. According to data from Arkham Intelligence, some early alleged beneficiaries of HEX began mixing $37 million worth of ETH on October 19, followed by another $102 million on October 26. Today, these wallets moved an additional $366 million, bringing the total value of the transactions to 147,478 ETH, which is worth over $500 million at current prices.
Heart’s Tax Allegations and Finnish Investigation
Heart, whose real last name is Schueler, recently tweeted a “thought experiment” about paying taxes. This is noteworthy as Finnish law enforcement has issued a criminal notice on Europe’s Most Wanted list regarding alleged tax evasion. While it is unclear whether Heart is late on tax payments, it coincides with an ongoing investigation. Blockchain tax-related allegations are often challenging to verify without the expertise of forensic blockchain professionals.
Dismissed SEC Lawsuit and Coin Mixing Allegations
In a dismissed SEC lawsuit against Richard Heart, commissioners alleged his extensive use of Tornado Cash and other coin mixers. According to the July 2023 lawsuit, Heart supposedly transferred or directed the transfer of $26 million in ETH through mixers and at least 50 intermediary wallets. Additionally, the SEC claimed over 94% of 2.3 million ETH transactions across 11 months were recycling transactions directed by Heart or insiders, creating the illusion of significant trading volume and organic demand for HEX.
Heart’s Familiarity with Tornado Cash
Heart has openly admitted his familiarity with digital asset mixers like Tornado Cash. In a December 2, 2019 YouTube video, he discussed such services, further fueling concerns about his role in ETH transfers. As a result, blockchain users often flag suspicious wallets suspected to be under Heart’s control. Platforms like Arkham facilitate this by creating custom entities and tags based on information from the SEC, researchers, and the HEX community (commonly referred to as Hexicans).
US Treasury’s Tornado Cash Sanctions Repeal
Although Richard Heart prevailed in his SEC lawsuit, the US Treasury ended its Tornado Cash sanctions on March 21, 2025, much later than these allegations. This development, however, is unrelated to Heart's activities, but it adds to the ongoing discussion surrounding crypto mixers and their regulation in the blockchain ecosystem.