After ZachXBT, a well-respected investigator in the field of blockchain, disclosed his ongoing legal dispute due to defamation claims stemming from his previous investigations, he has received an incredible amount of over $1 million in donations from members of the cryptocurrency community.
1/ It’s unfortunate I have to make this thread but I am being sued by MachiBigBrother for an article I published in June 2022.
Today Machi filed the defamation lawsuit. The lawsuit is baseless and an attempt to chill free speech. I intend to fight back & defend free speech. pic.twitter.com/anVY6zXU5a
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) June 16, 2023
ZachXBT Accused Of Defamation By Huang
Huang has filed a lawsuit against ZachXBT regarding an article published a year ago.
In the said article, ZachXBT alleged that Huang, one of the co-founders of Formosa Financial, a now-defunct cryptocurrency treasury management platform, embezzled millions of dollars’ worth of Ethereum.
It is worth noting that ZachXBT’s claims were substantiated by on-chain data.
Expressing his perspective on the matter, he stated, “From what I understand, Machi possesses significant wealth, whereas I do not. He is leveraging his financial resources in an attempt to silence me.”
He anticipated that his legal defense would require a substantial amount, potentially exceeding $1 million.
However, within a single day, the wallet address shared by the crypto sleuth amassed digital assets surpassing the aforementioned target.
Taking to Twitter, he shared a digital wallet address last Friday, accompanied by remarks that portrayed the litigation initiated by Jeffrey Huang.
He likened the situation to a classic tale of “David and Goliath.”
Diverse Range Of Contributions From Prominent Crypto Exchanges
The donated funds in ZachXBT’s wallet exhibit a diverse range of digital assets.
At present, the wallet comprises a substantial sum of over $650,000 in the stablecoin USDC, nearly $274,000 in Tether, and includes other tokens such as Ethereum valued at $284,000 and Polygon at $90,000.
A number of cryptocurrency exchange participants have actively contributed to this project.
According to Nansen data, wallets linked to well-known exchanges like Binance, Bitfinex, Bybit, Coinbase, Kraken, OKX, Uniswap, and 1inch have donated to ZachXBT’s wallet.
While a significant number of contributions amount to less than $100, several transactions range from $10,000 to $50,000, demonstrating the involvement of industry members who are eager to lend their support.
Notably, Binance CEO Cangpeng “CZ” Zhao made a generous donation and encouraged the crypto sleuth to persevere in his battle, emphasizing the importance of transparency within the industry.
This contribution is noteworthy, considering Binance and Zhao’s ongoing legal dispute with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In addition, Justin Sun, the founder of Tron and an advisor to the crypto exchange Huobi, contributed $10,000 worth of the stablecoin True USD to the crypto sleuth’s cause.
Sun highlighted the invaluable role played by the sleuth in educating the crypto community, as translated from a tweet.