BitInstant CEO Charlie Shrem Released from Jail and Resigns

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Following a court appearance, Charlie Shrem has been released from jail. The 24-year old appeared before the US District Court in New York City, and was released soon after. The jail bond was set at $1 million.

The BitInstant CEO was arrested on Monday at JFK International Airport. Shrem faces charges on money laundering by the US Attorney’s Office in Manhattan.

However, Shrem is not completely out of the water. Under the terms of his bail, Shrem must remain under house arrest at his parent’s Brooklyn home. Serrin Turner, Assistant US attorney was against Shrem’s bail, believing that Shrem has the resources to flee the country if he so desired.

According to The Daily Mail, Shrem’s net worth stands at $6 million.

Shrem’s lawyer Keith Miller says that claims against his client are “simply allegations”, and that Shrem is presumably innocent.

Charlie Shrem Resigns

The BitInstant CEO has resigned from the Bitcoin Foundation’s board of directors soon after the allegations were made against him.

The Bitcoin Foundation released a statement revealing Shrem’s resignation earlier this morning. Before Shrem’s troubles with the law began, he was vice chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation.

Executive director of the Bitcoin Foundation Jon Matonis said:

“As a foundation, we need to remain focused on our core mission to standardize, protect, and promote the Bitcoin core protocol.

While Charlie has contributed a great deal of personal effort and resources to enhance the adoption of Bitcoin worldwide, a prolonged legal dispute would inevitably detract from advancing that core mission.

Therefore, in order to focus on his pending trial, it has been mutually decided that Charlie Shrem resign from the Board of Directors, effective immediately. The Board accepted that resignation today.”

The statement went on to make clear that the indictment is against Shrem and Faiella, and should not reflect on the bitcoin community or the currency itself:

 “Bitcoins are not inherently illegal and have known legitimate uses.”

Don’t Blame Bitcoin

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss invested $1.5 million into BitInstant back in 2012. They issued a statement on behalf of the CEO’s recent allegations:

“We were passive investors in BitInstant and will do everything we can to help law enforcement officials. We fully support any and all governmental efforts to ensure that money laundering requirements are enforced, and look forward to clearer regulation being implemented on the purchase and sale of bitcoins.”

In situations such as these, it is important to remember that the actions of a select few don’t dictate the actions of the masses. Whether or not Shrem is guilty of selling drugs on the black market, bitcoin’s reputation should not be entangled into this mess.

Bitcoin already has a negative vibe attached to it towards those who may not fully understand or believe in its structure. However, most new ideas and concepts in this world dare to be different, in turn allowing us a more innovative world.