Editing ZachXBT

**ZachXBT** is a pseudonymous blockchain investigator who has published on-chain investigations into crypto thefts, scams and promoters since 2021.[^1] In December 2024 CoinDesk reported about 700,000 followers on X and 45,500 on Telegram.[^1]

## Background
CoinDesk reported that his own experience as a fraud victim motivates his work, that he usually works free of charge and that he relies mainly on donations of roughly $1.3 million a year.[^1] On 2025-02-26 venture firm Paradigm named him an "incident response advisor"; co-founder Matt Huang said he had helped recover about $350 million for victims since 2021.[^2]

## Style
He traces funds with pattern recognition on public blockchain data and publishes his evidence openly, covering Ponzi schemes, pump-and-dumps and [[Rug pull|rug pulls]].[^1] He names wallets and individuals he links to activity, which has drawn criticism as doxxing.[^4]

## Notable trades
### Investigations
- 2024-08-19: noticed a $600,000 bitcoin sale while waiting for a flight and traced it to a $243 million theft from a single victim; the victim hired him, his first commissioned job, and suspects were caught within a month.[^1]
- 2024-10-05: accused [[Ansem]] of promoting "hundreds" of low-market-cap memecoins, naming BODEN ([[Jeo Boden]]), HOBBES, ZEUS and WYNN; Ansem cited his early call on [[dogwifhat]] in reply.[^3]
- 2024-10-09: published 11 addresses he linked "with high confidence" to [[Murad]], holding about $24 million in memecoins, so followers could watch for sales.[^4]
- 2025-02: linked wallets used in the Bybit hack, attributed to North Korea's Lazarus Group, to a $29 million Phemex hack and to [[Solana]] memecoin scams including [[pump.fun]] rug pulls.[^2]
- 2026-02-26: alleged that a business development employee at trading terminal [[Axiom]] used internal support tools to look up private wallets of users, including [[KOL|KOLs]]; he said confirming specific insider trades would need Axiom's logs. Axiom said it was "surprised and disappointed" and removed access to the tools.[^5]

## Controversies
Critics called the Murad disclosure unfair without evidence of wrongdoing; ZachXBT replied that Murad had discussed his position sizes publicly.[^4] Before the Axiom report, a Polymarket contract on which company he would expose drew about $27.6 million in volume; Lookonchain reported one trader made about $39,000 betting on Axiom while its odds were low.[^5]

## See also
- [[List of memecoin traders]]
- [[Orangie]]
- [[Frank]]
- [[Cupsey]]
- [[Cented]]
- [[Unipcs]]
- [[Kimchi]]
- [[Bubblemaps]]

## References
1. [ZachXBT: Master Sleuth of Crypto](https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2024/12/10/zach-xbt-master-sleuth-of-crypto), CoinDesk, 2024-12-10
2. [Paradigm taps ZachXBT as adviser](https://cointelegraph.com/news/paradigm-taps-zach-xbt-as-adviser), Cointelegraph, 2025-02-26
3. [Crypto Influencer Ansem Accused of Promoting Memecoin 'Pump and Dumps' By ZachXBT](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/crypto-influencer-ansem-accused-promoting-133112274.html), Yahoo Finance, 2024-10-08
4. [Blockchain sleuth ZachXBT's doxxing of 'memecoin supercycle' promoter Murad Mahmudov's addresses sparks crypto community debate](https://www.theblock.co/post/320472/zachxbt-murad-mahmudov-memecoins), The Block, 2024-10-10
5. [ZachXBT names Axiom in investigation into alleged employee insider trading](https://www.theblock.co/post/391423/zachxbt-investigation-into-alleged-employee-insider-trading), The Block, 2026-02-26
Title
X
Also known as
Role
Wallets checked by reviewers
Active since
Known for
Stream
Status