In the midst of a contentious legal battle between its pseudonymous creators, the once-soaring Milady NFTs have witnessed a catastrophic 40% drop in value. Milady, which had thrived on its aura of mystery and rebellion, has found itself ensnared in dueling lawsuits that threaten to expose its enigmatic veneer.
Legal Clash Shakes Milady’s Foundations
The Milady Maker NFT project, previously celebrated as the fourth most-traded NFT collection on Ethereum, now stands at the precipice of a bear market. The discord between its founders has sent shockwaves through the crypto community. The litigious duel erupted as accusations of fraud flew back and forth, culminating in a bitter courtroom confrontation.
According to DefiLlama data, the value of Milady NFTs has plummeted by an alarming 39% over the past two and a half weeks, reducing their worth to 2 ETH, approximately $3,460. This mirrors the current state of the overall NFT market wherein 95% of collections have already been deemed worthless.
The Milady Controversy
Once lauded for its edgy and rebellious culture, Milady’s creators are now embroiled in an acrimonious legal dispute that threatens to strip away the mystique surrounding the project. Dennis Pourteaux, an investor at Huat Ventures and guest lecturer at Harvard Business School, sums up the ongoing event in an interview with DLNews, “Now, amidst dueling lawsuits and equity disputes, there is a risk that the curtain gets pulled back, and the warrior-poets are revealed as mere corporatists and litigants.”
The Milady collection, comprising nearly 10,000 profile picture-style images of doll-like, doe-eyed anime girls, known as “neochibi,” had previously attracted considerable attention from crypto influencers. Its seemingly innocent aesthetic, however, belies a history fraught with controversy.
The project’s pseudonymous face, Charlotte Fang, had stepped down amidst allegations of involvement in white nationalist circles and a supposed “suicide cult.” Fang claimed his involvement was merely an elaborate troll, but suspicions lingered.
In a lawsuit filed on September 10 in the US District Court for the District of Nevada, Fang revealed his true identity as Krishna Okhandiar and accused three independent contractors, Maxwell Roux, John Duff, and Henry Smith, of scheming to seize Remilia Corporation’s intellectual property, money, and social media accounts in order to extort equity from him.
Clash of Narratives
In a countersuit filed on September 22 in the Court of Chancery for the State of Delaware, Roux, Duff, Smith, and Bruno Nispel fired back, asserting themselves as co-founders and leveling allegations against Okhandiar for attempting to abscond with the company’s assets. The lawsuits have left observers surprised, challenging the perception of Remilia as a chaotic online collective.
Fundamental facts about the company are now under dispute. Okhandiar claims to have founded Remilia in January 2021 and brought Smith on board as an independent contractor.
Smith, on the other hand, contends that the first Milady was created in August 2020, and in September 2021, they collectively formed Remilia as an “unincorporated joint venture digital art collective association.”
Milady’s alleged near-destruction because of Okhandiar in May 2022 marked a turning point in its tumultuous journey. Despite the accusations, some argue that the outrage was a performative element inherent to the project’s culture.
In a mea culpa, Okhandiar attributed his controversial statements to trolling and promised to hand control to Smith and Nispel, only to later retract his departure.
The Plot Thickens
Okhandiar’s formation of Remilia Corporation and Remilia Industries behind his co-founders’ backs added fuel to the fire. Accusations of withheld pay and embezzlement further strained their relationship. Now, the battle for control even extends to the project’s cryptocurrency assets, social media accounts, and servers.
The legal confrontation between the two factions continues unabated, with Okhandiar vowing retribution for those who threatened his “kingdom of Remilia.” Meanwhile, Nispel and his co-plaintiffs assert that their goal was to protect the project and themselves from potential exploitation.
Final Thoughts
The unfolding drama surrounding Milady NFTs serves as a stark reminder of the fragility of even the most prominent projects in the crypto space. As the legal quagmire deepens, the future of Milady remains uncertain, and its once-soaring value continues to plummet.