Bitcoin Veteran Brock Pierce Faces Legal Trouble Instead of Crypto Center

Instead of a cryptocurrency hub, Brock Pierce has created legal disputes and debts, with at least three lawsuits pending.

According technology/brock-pierce-crypto-puerto-rico.html” target=”_blank” rel=””>The New York Timesbitcoin (btc) veteran Brock Pierce planned to revive Puerto Rico's economy with cryptocurrencies, but found himself embroiled in legal disputes and infighting with his business partners.

After moving to the island in 2017, Pierce and other enthusiasts joined the “Puerto Topia” project, a hub for cryptocurrency investors and tech startups.

The businessman has since purchased at least 14 properties, including the hurricane-damaged W Beach Resort, the Monastery Hotel, a hospital in Humacao and an nft art gallery.

Who is Brock Pierce?

Brock Pierce is an American entrepreneur and former child actor. However, in the cryptocurrency industry, he is known as an active blockchain conference speaker and co-founder and consultant of Blockchain Capital.

Pierce was one of the founders of EOSIO protocol developer Block.one and Blockchain Capital, whose portfolio includes Bitfury, Blockstream, Coinbase, Kraken, Parity Technologies, Ripple, ShapeShift, and many other well-known companies.

Pierce was also elected as a director of the bitcoin Foundation. Because of that, several people resigned, claiming that Pierce was once involved in child abuse allegations. He was not charged in court and denied his guilt.

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="legal-problems-in-crypto-utopia”>Legal problems in the crypto utopia

According to the New York Times, the revival of the W Hotel led to unpaid bills and legal problems. Pierce lost ownership of the hotel after failing to pay his business partner Joseph Lipsey III $10 million on time.

All the things he moved to Puerto Rico for, and talks about, he is not doing.

He also accused the bitcoin veteran of embezzlement. Pierce, in turn, unsuccessfully attempted to recover the property through the courts, calling the loan repayment terms “insidious machinations.”

Local developer Gonzalo Gracia, who helped arrange the hotel purchase, was unilaterally removed from the project. In a lawsuit filed in 2022, he said he never received $790,000 in commission from Pierce.

One of his employees said the hospital is also facing financial difficulties. According to him, the hospital needs more equipment and has not yet received tens of thousands of dollars in wages.

The nft gallery has been put up for sale and plans to open a community center have yet to materialize.

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Lawsuits against Pierce

Pierce reportedly asked his yacht manager, Hugo De la Uza, to repair the boat, but did not allocate funds for this a year ago.

The yacht he used to transport his friends back and forth from the West. Most of the guests were Americans whom he tried to convince to give him money.

Including this trial, there are already at least three lawsuits against the businessman in local courts. Another conflict is related to the director of the beauty pageant in Puerto Rico, Stephanie del Valle.

In the summer, a representative of the Puerto Rican basketball team Guaynabo Mets demanded more than $25,000 from the businessman that he owed the team as part of a sponsorship agreement.

Pierce's acquaintances believe he is running out of money. However, Pierce himself, in a conversation with the NYT, considers the facts to be a misunderstanding and says he is willing to contribute. He denies financial problems or deception on his part and says he is excited about becoming an engine of progress for Puerto Rico.

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="puerto-rico-a-new-tax-haven-for-bitcoin-millionaires”>Puerto Rico: a new tax haven for bitcoin millionaires

Many US residents choose Puerto Rico as a tax haven to develop cryptocurrency businesses.

The main reasons for changing their geolocation are the favorable tax residency, the excellent climate of the Caribbean islands and the undeveloped space where a new business can be built and existing projects developed, according to the technology/cryptocurrency-puerto-rico.html” target=”_blank” rel=””>The New York Times.

Puerto Rico has been a hidden gem, an enchanted island that has been constantly ignored and mistreated. Maybe 500 years later we can correct that.

Mr. Clemenson, co-founder of Lottery.com

Law 22, passed in 2012 to save the economy from collapse and later reformed, grants the benefits. It exempts taxes on passive income and capital gains and applies only to immigrants.

Since 2018, American entrepreneurs who made their fortunes in cryptocurrencies have begun to actively move to Puerto Rico. Pierce has become a leader of this movement and said that community members are motivated by compassion, respect and financial transparency.