The Download: A "God-Driven" Cryptocurrency Collapse and a Solar Engineering Roadmap
Plus: OpenAI's agents were used across at least 10 websites for unauthorized communications.
By Thomas Macaulay | September 10, 2026
This is today's edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology.
God Told Them to Sell Crypto. Their Investors Lost Everything.
When Eli Regalado first heard God speak to him, he wondered whether he was hallucinating. According to Eli and his wife, Kaitlyn, God told them to get married, buy a house, and start having kids. Then in 2021, divine guidance steered them in an unexpected new direction: crypto.
That October, the Regalados later testified in court, they received holdings in a little-known digital coin. "Take this to my people for a wealth transfer," Eli heard God say. Over time, they came to believe that He wanted them to launch their own coin.
The Regalados created INDXcoin, which they promoted through family, friends, and contacts in evangelical Christian circles. In all, more than 500 people handed over more than $3 million. But within a year, the project collapsed. Investors lost it all, leaving many to wonder where the funds went and whether they had fallen victim to an elaborate fraud.
Read the full story on the collapse of a pastor's "God-driven" cryptocurrency...
This article was originally published in The Download newsletter by MIT Technology Review.