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BELIEVE token is back under pressure, dropping nearly 19% in a day as serious legal charges against its founder, Benjamin Pasternak, shake already fragile market confidence.?Advertisement

According to New York Criminal Court records, Pasternak has been charged with second-degree strangulation and assault, with a court appearance scheduled for June 11. The timing couldn’t be worse for a token that has been struggling to maintain relevance.

Pasternak is facing serious charges, including a felony that could lead to at least 2 years in prison, along with fines and restitution. He also faces a misdemeanor assault charge that could carry up to 1 year in jail. The case is tied to an alleged domestic incident, and he has pleaded not guilty ahead of his court hearing.

From Viral Boom to Near Wipeout

The latest drop is only a continuation of a much larger breakdown. BELIEVE, once trading at $0.3569 during its peak in May 2025, has now collapsed to around $0.00075, marking a staggering decline of over 99%.

This isn’t a normal correction. It reflects a complete erosion of confidence, where early hype has given way to sustained selling pressure and a lack of meaningful recovery. The token’s price structure shows no signs of stability, with each bounce failing to hold.

Rug Pull Concerns Resurface

The legal case has also revived earlier concerns around a potential rug pull. Pasternak had previously been linked to allegations involving millions in suspected fund mismanagement, and while those claims remain unresolved, they are now back in focus.

For traders, this creates a layered risk, legal uncertainty, and unresolved financial questions. That combination tends to accelerate exits rather than attract new capital.

At Risk-Off

At this point, BELIEVE is no longer moving on hype or growth; it’s reacting to risk, which makes recovery much harder in crypto markets.

The project itself started as a SocialFi platform on Solana, allowing users to easily launch tokens through social media using a no-code system tied to liquidity pools. Previously known as Clout, it rebranded to BELIEVE in early 2025 and quickly gained traction, pushing its token to an all-time high of $0.3569 while generating over $6 billion in trading volume and $54 million in fees.