At first glance, ZKasino seemed similar to other cryptocurrency projects. Announced $350 million. evaluation The Series A round received $26 million in support from investors including cryptocurrency exchange MEXC. The smart contract has been audited by the well-known security company Certik (after ChatGPT’s initial passage). The project’s testnet was live.
Thus, by the time the project launched, over $33 million ETH had been connected to ZKasino’s network, with over 10,000 participants hoping to earn additional $ZKAS when the protocol launched. Eventually, the project promised that it could return ether upon user request.
But there were warning signs. The floods in Dubai that canceled ZKasino’s event were one thing, but in the past, accusations of mismanagement of the team have been made by former colleague and blockchain sleuth ZachXBT. A user representing the ZigZag exchange claimed that the ZKasino team stole the project’s initial funds from ZigZag’s coffers. Along with other claims of unpaid contractors and questionable business practices, ZKasino’s founder, known as Derivatives Monke, posted an incredibly explicit video to make a sarcastic joke, although he later apologized.
When ZKasino finally launched yesterday after several delays, investors were surprised to hear that plans had changed. Instead of being able to redeem ether as planned, $ZKAS tokens were automatically granted as a “favor” to “provide a smooth transition and superior user experience,” the project announced.
Users reacted to news of the change, noting that wording on the ZKasino website promising ETH refunds had changed and that users’ $ZKAS would now be paid out over 15 months. As personal information about Derivatives Monke spread online from angry investors hoping to recoup their capital, claims were made by thousands of accounts that ZKasino was a scammer.
After launch, token launchpads Ape Terminal and AIT Launchpad canceled ZKasino’s IDO, and exchange MEXC canceled the listing of $ZKAS. However, most investors had no choice but to watch the blockchain as $33 million of ETH was deposited on staking platform Lido.
The team has been mostly quiet amidst the commotion, but yesterday Derivatives Monke took the time to insult a critic of X. Today the project has received a relatively mild response. presentation We plan to implement EIP-3074 once the protocol change comes to Ethereum. Citing X’s post, Derivatives Monke promised to keep building.
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