Michael Terpin is a blockchain investor and the founder/CEO of Transform Group, a global public relations, blockchain consultancy, and events organization that has worked with over 250 blockchain clients, including over 30% of the CoinMarketCap 100 firms and foundations. He is also one of the co-founders of BitAngels, a digital currency angel investment network. He was also the founder of Marketwire, a renowned business newswire that was later amalgamated with GlobeNewswire.
Terpin lost $24 million in cryptocurrencies in 2018 owing to a SIM-swap scam. In August 2018, he filed a lawsuit against AT&T. He was awarded $75.8 million in a legal proceeding against Nichola Truglia, 21, who cheated him of his crypto assets on May 10, 2019. He has a master's degree in fine art from SUNY Buffalo and dual bachelor's degrees in journalism and English from Syracuse University, where he is a member of the board of advisers at the top-ranked Newhouse School.
Terpin's lawsuits emanating from the SIM-swapping issue were settled in 2019. He won $75.8 million in a legal battle against the fraudster who stole millions of dollars in crypto assets in May. His $224 million lawsuits against telecom giant AT&T was dropped in late July 2019, claiming a lack of sufficient evidence that indicates the company's complicity in the theft.
As the crypto economy grows, we expect cases like Terpin's will become more regular. We hope that telecom companies like AT&T and regulatory agencies like the Federal Communications Commission will take notice of the increasing theft of whole fortunes and make necessary changes by directing and implementing best practices to help secure our digital assets. While some future phones will include hardware wallets, we anticipate that the majority of operational security will be a collaborative effort between users and telecom companies.