The billionaire chairman of the cryptocurrency, stock, forex and commodities exchange is the third crypto industry leader to die unexpectedly in a month.
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Russian crypto billionaire and Libertex Group chairman Vyacheslav Taran has been killed in a helicopter crash en route to Monaco.
The 53-year-old was the sole passenger in the flight from nearby Lausanne in Switzerland.
Taran was founder of Forex Club and the Libertex exchange, a trading and investing platform which handles some cryptocurrencies as well as foreign exchange, stocks, stock indices and ETFs. The company said in a statement:
"Vyacheslav Taran will be missed more than words can express, and everyone at Libertex will eternally be grateful for what he has accomplished."
He is the third crypto executive to die in strange circumstances in the past month.
Last week, 30-year-old Tiantian "TT" Kullander, co-founder of the Amber Group and its WhaleFin digital asset platform, died unexpectedly in his sleep.
And on Oct. 28, the co-founder of DeFi lending platform MakerDAO and its DAI stablecoin, 29-year-old Nikolai Mushegian, drowned in Puerto Rico after being dragged out to sea by currents.
MakerDAO's co-founder and CEO Rune Chsistensen called Musegian key to the "security-oriented approach to smart contract design we know today."
Taran's helicopter crashed in good weather, and while the crash investigation is underway there have been no indications that authorities believe foul play was involved, the New York Post said.
That said, a second passenger on the flight reportedly canceled at the last minute — leading to a number of comments on Twitter and none-too-subtle speculation in the British tabloid press that there may have been something suspicious going on.
The Post also noted that Taran was the "long line of Russian billionaires who have died under mysterious circumstances this year."
Several news outlets reported that Ukrainian news agency Unian had alleged — without citing any sources — that Taran had ties to Russian intelligence and laundered Russian funds out of the country through crypto operations.
