Riccardo "Fluffypony" Spagni, the former chief maintainer of the privacy blockchain Monero, has launched a new mining app called Tari Universe. The app aims to "democratize" cryptocurrency mining by using an ASIC-resistant hashing algorithm that allows users to mine using ordinary computers. After launching the app recently, Spagni said his goal was to make mining easier for everyone. "We wanted to create an experience where technology gradually melted into the background. Tari Universe is about empowering users, not suppressing them." Spagni is promoting the L1 protocol, even though he faces fraud and forgery charges brought by his former employer, Cape Cookies. In June, a Mybroadband report alleged that Spagni defrauded Cape Cookies of around $83,400 between October 1, 2009 and June 8, 2011. However, South African authorities did not act until August 2021, when they asked US authorities to arrest him. Since his arrest and subsequent handover to South African authorities, Spagni has maintained his innocence and sought to quash the arrest warrant, a request rejected by South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal.