The crypto community has rallied behind respected blockchain sleuth ZachXBT just days after he disclosed a lawsuit related to a previous investigation.
Donations to ZachXBT have poured in from across the crypto community and have so far exceeded $1 million to help fund his legal defense.
Donations are pouring in
Following the lawsuit disclosure, the blockchain sleuth posted a digital wallet address on his official Twitter account, along with details of the lawsuit filed against him by Jeffrey Huang. Huang is a Taiwanese-American musician and tech entrepreneur. ZachXBT described the trial as disturbing and called it a “David and Goliath” story.
“It’s a shame I have to create this thread, but I’m being sued by MachiBigBrother for an article I posted in June 2022. Today Machi filed a defamation lawsuit. The lawsuit is without merit and an attempt to chill free speech. I intend to fight back and defend free speech.
ZachXBT noted that his legal fees could cost upwards of $1 million. However, in an example of the cohesiveness of the crypto community, donations poured in and within a day, ZachXBT’s donation wallet accumulated digital assets worth more than the stated goal. According to Nansen Portfolio, the majority of donations consisted primarily of stablecoins. ZachXBT added that any remaining funds would be returned to donors on a pro-rata basis.
“I am creating a donation address to help with the legal costs associated with defending this case, which could easily exceed US$1 million. Any remaining funds will be returned pro rata to contributors.
Currently, the wallet holds over $650,000 of USDC, $274,000 of Tether, and several other cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum (ETH) and Polygon (MATIC).
Prominent names step in to help
Several users from a number of cryptocurrency exchanges also donated to the effort, with ZachXBT’s donation wallet receiving funds from wallets linked to all major exchanges such as Binance, Kraken, OKX, Coinbase , Bitfinex, Bybit, 1inch and Uniswap. Donations below the $100 mark number in the thousands, while several donations range between $10,000 and $50,000, as several prominent members of the crypto ecosystem have also contributed.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao also donated $50,000, urging ZachXBT to continue the fight and help keep crypto-transparency. Zhao’s donation comes even as Binance’s CEO is himself grappling with a lawsuit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Meanwhile, Tron founder Justin Sun also donated $10,000 of Stablecoin True USD. Sun also highlighted ZachXBT’s role in educating the crypto community, stating,
“I am thrilled to donate $10,000 to @zachxbt. Although I am not a legal expert myself, I highly appreciate Zach’s substantial contributions to blockchain security and his crucial role in guiding our users to protect their funds.
The lawsuit against ZachXBT
ZachXBT was sued by NFT trader MachiBigBrother, also known as Jeffrey Huang. ZachXBT had published a report on Huang last year, alleging that he embezzled millions of dollars worth of crypto. MachiBigBrother filed a lawsuit against the blockchain sleuth in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, alleging that ZachXBT’s report caused severe monetary and reputational damage. The attorney representing MachiBigBrother said:
“Without any regard for the ruinous effect which public allegations of criminal behavior may produce for the accused, [ZachXBT] not only published his defamatory article on Medium.com, but he also maliciously promoted the article to his more than 300,000 Twitter followers.
ZachXBT faces one count of defamation and one count of defamation per se. The lawsuit also asks the court to order ZachXBT to pay actual and compensatory damages in addition to exemplary damages, the amount of which will be determined by the court.
ZachXBT has become one of the most prominent voices in the crypto space and has shed light on several crypto projects and on-chain events. In the process, he uncovered several potential scams and bad actors and studied exploits and hacks to uncover their root causes. His detective work has also led to several real-world arrests and helped him amass a significant following, as well as a spot on Consensus magazine’s 2022 Most Influential list.
However, the lawsuit threatened to compromise ZachXBT’s identity after his name and whereabouts were revealed. However, as the lawsuit progresses, the crypto and Web3 communities have given their full support with their donations.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended for use as legal, tax, investment, financial or other advice.