Cryptocurrency and the Church... The Tragic Tale of Two Pastors

Partnering with the world and its values...

The Bitcoin symbol on the front of a church…

Cryptocurrencies (or crypto) are “digital assets” that do not exist in physical form. The first crypto was Bitcoin in 2009, and as of today, there are more than 40,000 others. Cryptos can be highly volatile, often seeing huge price swings over days or even hours. A tiny percent of them are extraordinarily valuable, most are rank speculation, and the rest are worthless money pits or even scams.

So why are some churches getting involved in crypto? Two reasons… and both are dead wrong!

First the case of Eli Regalado, “pastor” of Victorious Grace, an online church. Regalado and his wife Kaitlyn told followers that God would make them rich if they invested in a cryptocurrency they created called INDXcoin. Investigators with the

Colorado Division of Securities have charged that as late as 2023, INDXcoin raised about $3.2 million from more than 300 people who invested in the “essentially worthless” cryptocurrency. The Regalados, who ran the Kingdom Wealth Exchange, used at least $1.3 million of those funds to support an extravagant lifestyle that included tens of thousands of dollars spent on vacations, jewelry, luxury handbags, cosmetic dentistry, clothes, and home renovations.

The worst part of it is that Regalado repeatedly told his followers, “The Lord brought this cryptocurrency to me. God said, ‘Take this to my people for a wealth transfer.’ And it has been confirmed a hundred times since then.”

More on that later…

Victorious Grace Church’s INDXcoin is nothing more than a cryptocurrency-based version of the age-old Prosperity Gospel scam. It’s obvious that few if any of those who bought INDXcoin will ever see a penny of their money back.

Scripture tells us this…

Steady plodding brings prosperity; hasty speculation brings poverty. (Proverbs 21:5)

The state of Colorado’s case is still pending against Regalado, who was last seen somewhere in Zambia…

Then there are the recent exploits of a second North American pastor. His cryptocurrency “token” project is described as “dedicated to preserving their church building and enabling further community investment.” He claims the Lord told him to do it.

Turning to international financial markets to raise millions for church funding is not Biblical. As Christians, we are not to seek worldly solutions to provide for the church, we do not adopt the world’s strategies, nor do we borrow its ideas.

In other words… Christians should not partner with the world and its values.

Crypto financing cheats church members out of an opportunity to trust God for provision. At the same time, “investing in community development” is not a function of the church. Rather, pastors are to teach the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27); equip the saints to do the work of ministry (Ephesians 4:12); and defend the faith against the doctrines of demons (Ephesians 4:13).

Concerning both pastors (and ourselves), we are not to act on something by relying only on what we think “God directly told us”. When a thought pops into our head, we have no idea where it came from. How does anyone know if it’s their own faulty impression, or worse, Satan tempting them?

The answer is that we don’t always know…

How then are we to discern the will of God? The primary way is through His Word…

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16)

If Scripture commands something of us, there’s no need to hesitate and wonder if it’s God’s will. Over 500 years ago, Martin Luther famously said, “Who would hear God speak? Let him read Holy Scripture!”

Pray for both of them…

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