Bitquery, which sells data and tracing tools covering more than 40 blockchain networks, accused co-founder Dionysios "Dean" Karakitsos of transferring company money to accounts connected to himself and his associates, according to a complaint filed in Manhattan Supreme Court.
- The claimed amount equals at least 58.8% of the $8.5 million seed round Bitquery announced in September 2022, The Coinformer found.
- Binance Labs and dao5 led the investment, while Susquehanna, DHVC, INCE Capital and Google-linked angel investors also participated.
That comparison shows the allegation's scale, although it doesn't necessarily mean that the disputed transfers came directly from investors' money.
Corporate funds are interchangeable and the publicly available allegations don't trace every contested dollar to the round.
Money tracker loses track of its money
Founded by Dionysios "Dean" Karakitsos and Aleksey Studnev, Bitquery began as the Ethereum analytics explorer Bloxy.info in 2017 before adopting its current name in 2018.
The company provides APIs and blockchain data streams that allow developers and investigators to analyze trades and fund movements across more than 40 blockchains without operating their own nodes.
- Bitquery alleges that Karakitsos controlled its banking accounts and sent funds to personal accounts and entities operated by him or his associates.
- It also says he told investors that the company held between $5 million and $6 million in the bank, despite generating about $2 million in annual revenue during 2024 and 2025 while incurring similar operating costs.
- Days before resigning in October 2025, Karakitsos allegedly deleted or altered 194 expense and billing entries in QuickBooks, an accounting platform, and later refused to surrender Bitquery's banking credentials, per the complaint.
- Karakitsos told the New York Post that he "strongly disagree[s] with the allegations" and plans to respond in court.
- He now runs Assymetrix, a prediction market intelligence startup that markets tools for monitoring traders and identifying suspicious activity.