Vladimir Smerkis, the co-founder of Blum (a tap-to-earn app) has been arrested over suspicion of fraud. As per the reports, Smerkis was arrested in Moscow on May 17 following a detention order by the Zamoskvoretsky District Court. 

While the authorities have not specified the reasons behind his arrest yet, there is suspicion that the arrest could be linked to his involvement in earlier crypto projects. Furthermore, the arrest of Smerkis has sparked various concerns regarding the Blum crypto game. 

Vladimir Smerkis Arrested Over Fraud Allegations 

Tap-to-earn games, pioneered by the famous Hamster Kombat game launched back in 2024, has been gaining traction lately. These projects usually allow users to earn crypto by playing tapping games on their screens. And for Blum, the game has attracted huge attention from tap-to-earn gaming enthusiasts. 

But recently, these games have come under intense scrutiny by authorities. The arrest of the Blum co-founder and former Binance’s CIS division head comes amid this heightened scrutiny. Top crypto enthusiast Bear Earn reported the arrest of Vladimir Smerkis on X. 

“Vladimir Smerkis — ex-Binance CIS exec and co-founder of tap-to-earn app Blum — has been arrested  in Moscow and placed in detention as a preventive measure,” he wrote on X. However, the arrest of Vladimir is not associated with his involvement with Blum. “The charges may be tied to earlier projects, Token Fund and Tokenbox, where investors allegedly lost over $15M,” Bear Earn added. 

Following the arrest of Vladmir, the Blum tap-to-earn project has distanced itself from him. Blum claims that Vladmir left his role as the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and is not involved in the project in any way. 

We would like to inform our community that Vladimir Smerkis has stepped down from his role as CMO and is no longer involved in the development of the project or in any co-founder capacity.

— Blum (@blumcrypto) May 17, 2025

Vladmir’s Arrest Raises Concerns Among Blum Enthusiasts 

The arrest of Blum has sparked immense concerns amongst Blum tap-to-earn game fans. Notably, crypto influencer and Elite Crypto Tool co-founder RK Gupta is concerned about the Blum airdrop after Vladmir’s arrest. 

“We tapped every day for that airdrop. Now the co-founder is gone?…The team says he’s no longer part of $BLUM. No airdrop. No updates. Just silence. Was it all for nothing?” Gupta remarked. 

The post by Gupta has since gone viral as most Blum fans resonate highly with his reactions. Furthermore, the reaction by Gupta has sparked scrutiny around Blum with the enthusiasts. These fans dedicated their time to the game and are now in fear of not gaining any real value for their engagement. 

What’s Next After Blum Co-founder’s Arrest?

Just like other play-to-earn games, Blum allows users to earn crypto tokens that can be exchanged for real world money. In the Blum game, users tap their screens to collect Blum points in the form of snowflakes with the hope of getting real-world value by exchanging them for money. But despite the arrest of the co-founder, the project team is still keeping the daily operations running. 

With continued transparency, especially regarding the much-awaited token airdrop, the project could go past Vladmir’s arrest with ease. Additionally, fans are eyeing further updates on the utility of the in-game earnings. The Blum team must thus adopt a clear communication approach to rebuild user trust.