The operation now trading as APTM DAO has used at least seven names in six years. Each arrived after the previous one stopped working, and the transitions follow a consistent rhythm: regulatory pressure, decline, collapse, relaunch. Set out in sequence, the chain is the clearest single piece of evidence about how the business actually operates.
The Chain
Karatbars International, founded 2011, collapsed mid 2019 after a failed pivot to crypto. GSPartners, launched through GSB Group from around 2020, sold G999 tokens and later MetaCertificates, and by its own claim raised roughly a billion dollars from more than 800,000 investors. Swiss Valorem Bank appeared as a rebrand in May 2023 following Canadian regulatory warnings, and was dropped within months. Lydian World and GSTrade ran alongside as a metaverse spinoff and an internal exchange, both later named in UK warnings.
GSPartners collapsed in December 2023 after enforcement actions in at least seven US states and six Canadian provinces. GSPro was announced as a reboot and abandoned. Billionico and Auratus emerged in March 2024. DAO1 launched under Apertum Foundation, drew warnings from six regulators in five countries, collapsed in June 2026, and returned within weeks as APTM DAO with a MinerBot product. A feeder called Run Run Run appeared in August 2026.
Why the Names Change and the People Do Not
A rebrand solves a specific problem. Regulatory warnings, negative search results and investor complaints all attach to a name. They do not automatically attach to a new one. An investor searching Apertum in 2025 would not have encountered the 2023 GSPartners orders unless they knew to look for them. The individuals, the marketing channels and the underlying proposition carry over. The liability history does not.
That is why the enforcement record matters more than the brand. Josip Heit, Bruce Innes Wylde Hughes and Dirc Zahlmann appear in the California order of November 2023. Heit, Zahlmann, Hughes and Dennis Loos appear in the Texas Apertum order of March 2025. Zahlmann and Loos are reported to lead German promotion of DAO1, which BaFin warned about in October 2025. Three brands, three years, the same names.
Where It Stands
Heit settled with state and provincial regulators in September 2024, without penalty or admission, and with the fraud allegations against him withdrawn, in exchange for refunding investors across 34 US states and six Canadian provinces. Claims closed in May 2025. As of September 2026 none have been determined, and Arizona has recorded unexpected delays attributed to Heit and GSPartners.
The fraud allegations against Swiss Valorem Bank, Hughes, Zahlmann and Aline Lima were expressly not withdrawn, and the 2023 Texas order is final and unappealable as to them. The 2025 Texas Apertum order was set aside by agreement with no findings. Warnings remain in force from Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the Bahamas and more than a dozen North American jurisdictions.
Why Rebranding Works
A rebrand solves a specific and narrow problem. Regulatory warnings, negative search results and investor complaints all attach to a name. They do not automatically attach to a new one. An investor searching Apertum in 2025 would not have encountered the 2023 GSPartners orders unless they already knew to look for them.
The individuals, the marketing channels, the promoter network and the underlying proposition all carry over. The liability history does not. That asymmetry is the entire commercial logic of the sequence, and it is why the enforcement record attached to the people matters more than whatever the current brand is called.
Where Each Thread Stands
Heit settled with state and provincial regulators in September 2024 without penalty or admission, with the fraud allegations against him withdrawn, in exchange for refunding investors across the settling North American jurisdictions. Claims closed in May 2025. As of September 2026 none had been determined, and Arizona has recorded unexpected delays it stated were not attributable to the Division.
The fraud allegations against Swiss Valorem Bank, Hughes, Zahlmann and Aline Lima were expressly not withdrawn, and the 2023 Texas order is final and unappealable as to them. The 2025 Texas Apertum order was set aside by agreement with no findings. California secured a separate settlement requiring the return of all funds deposited by Californian clients. Warnings remain in force from Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the Bahamas and more than a dozen North American jurisdictions.
Conclusion
Seven names, six years, one operation. Karatbars to GSPartners to Swiss Valorem to GSPro to Billionico and Auratus to DAO1 to APTM DAO, with Lydian World, GSTrade and Run Run Run alongside. Each collapse produced a relaunch within months. Nine countries and more than a dozen North American regulators have issued warnings or orders across the sequence. The investors promised refunds two years ago are still waiting. The current product launched in June 2026.
