ZKasino’s $31m ETH returned to team wallet after founder’s arrest

Following the arrest of a suspected ZKasino founder last week, millions of previously bridged staked Ether were returned to the team’s original multi-signature wallet.

On May 9, Etherscan data showed that ZKasino had approximately 10,531 Lido staked Ether (stETH) in its team wallet, worth approximately $31.4 million at current market prices. Funds were previously moved to private wallets allegedly controlled by at least one founder of the project, after users reported that their withdrawals had been disabled.

LAST MINUTE! All bridged ETH is now back to the original multi-signature wallet. Something is going on, could they be planning to refund money to Zkasino victims? pic.twitter.com/Miqcv2Bax9

— $JAIL (@jail_monke) May 9, 2024

As crypto.news reported, Binance assisted law enforcement in tracking the funds. Assistance from the crypto exchange supported the Dutch Financial Information and Investigation Service (FIOD) in making the arrest late last month.

An unnamed suspect was taken into custody and FIOD agents seized his assets, including a $12 million luxury car. Despite the arrest, ZKasino funds continued to move on-chain, fueling theories that more than one person was involved in what many are calling exit fraud, commonly known as rug pulling in crypto.

ZKasino denies Binance’s “FUD” claim

After the news broke and funds mysteriously returned to the ZKasino multi-signature wallet, a pseudonymous developer associated with the project denied the claims from Binance and the larger crypto community. The person operating on X under the moniker “Derivatives Monke” made it clear that the claims were “false and damaging to the ZKasino brand.”

We would like to assure everyone that we will continue to do our best and continue to make the project successful, as we have for the last 3 years.

Derivatines Monke denies Binance’s claims

The statement drew heavy backlash from users and observers who said it broke the trust of more than 10,000 users of the cryptocurrency betting platform. On-chain analytics provider Nansen also questioned Derivatives Monke why assets were moved during the Eigenlayer airdrop saga and then returned following an arrest in the Netherlands.