HEX fell nearly 60% after reports emerged that its founder, Richard Heart, was detained by Turkish authorities in Istanbul. The tokens tied to his ecosystem moved in the same direction: PulseX dropped 49%, and PulseChain's PLS lost close to 36%. Heart's legal name is Richard James Schueler.
The selloff is a straightforward reaction to the one person who has been the public face of all three projects. Heart founded HEX, PulseChain and PulseX, and his persona has been central to their promotion.
Inside the Beşiktaş detention
Turkish police and the National Intelligence Organization, known as MİT, detained Heart in Istanbul's Beşiktaş district. The detention was reportedly linked to an Interpol Red Notice requested by Finland in December 2024 over suspected aggravated tax fraud. Turkey officially confirmed the detention and reported seizing $7.15 million in cash.
Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said authorities also seized six cold wallets, seven guns and 1,400 rounds of ammunition.
Finland's investigation concerns suspected aggravated tax fraud tied to income from June 2020 through April 2024, with potential unpaid tax reportedly in the hundreds of millions of euros. Separate reporting about Heart's wanted status has also raised an assault allegation involving a 16-year-old.
What the detention does — and doesn't — mean
The reported detention is not a conviction, an extradition decision or a finding of guilt. That distinction matters for anyone reading the price action as a verdict. It isn't one.
Nor does the seizure of personal assets automatically halt PulseChain's blockchain or invalidate HEX, PLS or PLSX tokens. The chain is software. The case is about a person.
Still, markets are rarely careful about that line. The tokens dropped fast because Heart's profile is the product's profile. When the founder is in custody, holders don't wait for a courtroom to sort out the details.
The SEC case that already collapsed
This isn't Heart's first run-in with regulators. The U.S. SEC filed a civil complaint in 2023 alleging unregistered offerings exceeding $1 billion and misuse of at least $12 million. A federal judge dismissed the case in February 2025 on jurisdictional grounds, and the SEC did not pursue an amended complaint.
That dismissal closed one front. The Finnish tax matter and the Turkish detention opened another, and this one comes with assets already in state hands.
What comes next
The immediate question is Turkey's next procedural step on the Finnish request. Finland's Red Notice was requested in December 2024, but a detention is not an extradition. Whether Ankara moves toward formal proceedings will determine how long Heart stays in Turkish custody — and how long the tokens his name is attached to keep trading on the news rather than on their own merits.
