https://en.bitcoin.it/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=HashFlareHashFlare - Revision history2026-09-22T22:24:09ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.9https://en.bitcoin.it/w/index.php?title=HashFlare&diff=71630&oldid=prevNotATether: Create HashFlare article; note DOJ plea and sentencing2026-09-22T19:51:12Z<p>Create HashFlare article; note DOJ plea and sentencing</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{infobox company<br />
| name = HashFlare<br />
| industry = Cloud cryptocurrency mining (historical)<br />
| foundation = 2015<br />
| founder = Sergei Potapenko, Ivan Turõgin<br />
| defunct = sales period ended by 2019 (per DOJ)<br />
| location = Estonia (operators)<br />
| website =<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''HashFlare''' was a cloud cryptocurrency mining brand operated by Estonian nationals Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turõgin. Related mining hardware and hosting activity has also been discussed under the [[HashCoins]] name. HashFlare was the customer-contract cloud-mining product. Related hardware and hosting activity was associated with the separate [[HashCoins]] brand.<br />
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== Product ==<br />
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, between 2015 and 2019 HashFlare sold contracts that entitled customers to a share of cryptocurrency supposedly mined by the service. Sales in that period totaled more than US$577 million. The Justice Department stated that HashFlare did not have the computing capacity to perform most of the mining it claimed, and that the web dashboard showed falsified mining results.<ref name="plea">[https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-estonian-nationals-plead-guilty-577m-cryptocurrency-fraud-scheme U.S. Department of Justice OPA, 13 February 2025: Two Estonian Nationals Plead Guilty in $577M Cryptocurrency Fraud Scheme]</ref><br />
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== Guilty pleas ==<br />
On 12 February 2025 Potapenko and Turõgin each pleaded guilty in the Western District of Washington to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The Justice Department stated they agreed to forfeit assets then valued at more than US$400 million, to be available for a remission process to compensate victims, with remission details to be announced later. The announcement did not establish that victim payouts had been completed.<ref name="plea" /> <br />
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== Sentencing ==<br />
On 12 August 2025 U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik sentenced both defendants to time served (about 16 months already in custody), and ordered each to pay a US$25,000 fine and complete 360 hours of community service while on supervised release, expected to be served in Estonia.<ref name="st">[https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/estonian-nationals-sentenced-in-wa-for-577m-ponzi-scheme/ Seattle Times, 13 August 2025]</ref><ref name="ct">[https://cointelegraph.com/news/hashflare-founders-given-time-served-577m-crypto-ponzi Cointelegraph, 13 August 2025]</ref> <br />
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== See also ==<br />
* [[HashCoins]]<br />
* [[Cloud mining]]<br />
* [[Mining]]<br />
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== External links ==<br />
* [https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-estonian-nationals-plead-guilty-577m-cryptocurrency-fraud-scheme DOJ OPA plea press release]<br />
* [https://www.fbi.gov/hashflare FBI HashFlare victim information page]<br />
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== References ==<br />
<references /><br />
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[[Category:Defunct companies]]<br />
[[Category:Defunct services]]<br />
[[Category:Mining contractors]]</div>NotATether