ZKasino’s $31 million worth of ETH was restored to the team’s wallet following the arrest of one of its founders.
After the apprehension of a suspected founder of ZKasino last week, millions in staked Ether that had been bridged previously were restored to the team’s initial multi-signature wallet.
On May 9, data from Etherscan revealed that the team wallet of ZKasino held approximately 10,531 staked Ether (stETH) from Lido, valued at around $31.4 million based on current market rates. This substantial amount had previously been transferred to private wallets supposedly under the control of at least one founder of the project, following observations by users regarding disabled withdrawals.
According to reports from crypto.news, Binance collaborated with law enforcement agencies to track these funds. Assistance from the crypto exchange aided the Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD) in apprehending a suspect towards the end of the previous month. During the operation, FIOD agents seized assets, including a luxury automobile valued at $12 million.
ZKasino refutes the “FUD” allegations from Binance.
Despite the arrest, funds associated with ZKasino continued to flow through blockchain transactions, fueling speculation that multiple individuals might be implicated in what many characterize as an exit scam, colloquially known as a rug pull in the crypto sphere.
In response to the unfolding events, ZKasino issued a denial of the claims made by Binance and the broader cryptocurrency community, dismissing them as “FUD” (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt). A pseudonymous developer associated with the project, operating under the alias “Derivatives Monke” on X, explicitly countered the allegations, asserting that they were “false and damaging to the ZKasino brand”.
This statement faced significant criticism from users and observers, who accused the cryptocurrency betting platform of betraying the trust of its more than 10,000 users. Nansen, an on-chain analytics provider, also challenged Derivatives Monke regarding the rationale behind the movement of assets during the Eigenlayer airdrop saga, followed by their return subsequent to an arrest in the Netherlands.