Did ‘Bitcoin Jesus’ just cut a $48m deal with US authorities? ‘I’d love to say more’

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Roger Ver, the crypto investor once called “Bitcoin Jesus,” has struck a tentative deal with the US Justice Department to settle a criminal tax fraud case in the latest sign of Washington’s pivot.

That’s according to a New York Times report that cited sources with knowledge of the matter that said that Ver will pay about $48 million to resolve the charges.

If he complies with the terms of the deferred prosecution deal, the charges are expected to be dropped. The deal has not been filed with the court and could still change, the sources told the publication.

“I’d love to say more, but I will follow my tax lawyer’s advice like I’ve been doing for decades,” he said in an email to the New York Times. “Unfortunately, that means ‘no comment.’”

Such an agreement will effectively end one of the highest-profile crypto tax cases of the past decade.

It underscores how dramatically US President Donald Trump’s administration has reversed the crackdown on crypto that began under Joe Biden.

Prosecutors had accused Ver of concealing Bitcoin gains and evading what is commonly known as an exit tax, a levy Americans must pay before renouncing citizenship.

Ver, who became a naturalised citizen of St. Kitts and Nevis in 2014, was accused of hiding the value of his crypto holdings when he expatriated.

Crypto rebel to political operator

Ver was arrested in Spain in 2024 after prosecutors accused him of defrauding the US government of $48 million in unpaid taxes.

He has since framed the case as politically motivated, claiming he was targeted for his advocacy of libertarian ideals and Bitcoin adoption.

“For decades, I’ve been terrorised by rogue US government agents who hate American freedom,” Ver said on X in January.

Jailed FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried made similar claims to explain his 25-year sentence after being convicted for fraud.

Behind the scenes, Ver has mounted an aggressive political charm offensive.

Lobbying disclosures show he paid $600,000 to Roger Stone, Trump’s longtime ally, to push for the repeal of the exit tax and promote his case in Washington.

He also retained a team of Trump-linked lawyers, including David Schoen, who defended Trump during his impeachment trial, and Christopher Kise, one of Trump’s own legal advisers.

Crypto clemency wave

Ver’s deal follows a string of pardons and settlements involving prominent crypto figures.

Trump has already pardoned Ross Ulbricht, founder of the Silk Road darknet marketplace, and BitMEX exchange co-founders, who had pleaded guilty to money-laundering violations.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao is also seeking a full pardon to clear his record and regain access to the US market, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Zhao acted as Binance’s CEO until November 2023, when he agreed to resign and pay a $50 million fine to the US government after pleading guilty to violating anti-money laundering laws.

The Wall Street Journal reported that representatives of the Trump family and Zhao have held talks to take a stake in Binance’s US operations and that Zhao has campaigned to be pardoned.

Zhao has denied the story.