Monke

Blockchain-based gambling project ZKasino is being slammed on X for moving $33 million worth of investor and user funds to staking protocol Lido — a sudden change from its original plan to return the funds.
In an April 20 blog post, ZKasino <a href="https://zkasino.medium.com/the-zkasino-network-goes-live-f39dfa1f740a" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">announced</a> its network had gone live. More than 10,000 users who had bridged a collective 10,515 Ether (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/ethereum-price">ETH</a>) to the network in a bid to collect more of its ZKasino (ZKAS) tokens were expecting they could get their ETH back as initially promised.
Instead, ZKasino’s post said it “made changes from our initial plan,” with all bridged ETH converted to ZKAS at a “discounted rate of $0.055” on a 15-month vesting schedule.
It claimed the changes were “done as a favour” so it could “provide a seamless transition” as its chain doesn’t use ETH. Users also noticed it had changed the wording on its <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240404163458/https://bridge.zkasino.io/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">website</a>, removing a statement that said the ETH “would be returned.”
These concerns were further intensified after an on-chain <a href="https://etherscan.io/tx/0xd6fa04a3465bd81d4df7e4f51c0ea9ecbc3264ef950cbc4a519caa642a217402" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">transfer</a> showing ZKasino moved all of its users’ 10,515 ETH into the staking protocol Lido.
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 Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/EmberCN/status/1781949014516400268" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">Ember</a>
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Meanwhile, an anonymous crypto developer known as “cygaar” <a href="https://twitter.com/0xCygaar/status/1782043339744809044" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">claims</a> that the blockchain ZKasino released was “an Arbitrum Nitro chain that took 2 minutes to deploy” and didn’t use zero knowledge technology or EigenDA despite its <a href="https://twitter.com/ZKasino_io/status/1765044699587342540" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">claim</a> that it would.
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 Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/0xCygaar/status/1782043339744809044" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">cygaar</a>
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On X, hundreds of posts from apparent ZKasino users who pitched money toward the project are now alleging the project is an&nbsp;<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/how-to-protect-against-crypto-exit-scams">exit scam</a>.
Some have even spread the personal information and address of ZKasino’s founder, known on X as “Derivatives Monke,” using it to call for legal action.
<h2 data-ct-non-breakable="true" id="more-controversy">More controversy</h2>
Venture capital firm Big Brain has added to the controversy as well, <a href="https://twitter.com/BigBrainVC/status/1782024980013703594" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">claiming</a> in an April 21 X post that ZKasino “appears to be fraudulent” and it “never invested in ZKasino” but was offered a pro-rata token distribution that it had not received and “will not opt to receive.”
This came after ZKasino <a href="https://twitter.com/ZKasino_io/status/1770063906515357779" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">claimed</a> in an X post in March&nbsp;to have closed a Series A investment round at a $350 million valuation with backing from crypto exchange MEXC and venture firm Big Brain Holdings, among others.
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 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-04/ded88984-3705-476b-a9dc-b34d5645fe20.png" alt="" title="">
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 Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/BigBrainVC/status/1782024980013703594" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">Big Brain Holdings</a>
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Meanwhile, crypto outlet TechFlow <a href="https://twitter.com/TechFlowPost/status/1781904054207045915" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">reported</a> on April 21 that MEXC said (translated) it was “just one of the investors” and ZKasino’s “behavior has nothing to do with us. As an investor, we are also victims.”
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/solana-memecoin-crypto-utility-reputation">Solana memecoin frenzy raises questions about crypto utility, reputation</a>
ZKasino, its founder, its parent firm ZigZag Labs and MEXC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
ZKasino has been largely mute on X through the backlash. The project <a href="https://twitter.com/ZKasino_io/status/1782053963388391755" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">posted</a> a humdrum update about <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-pectra-hard-fork-upgrade-smart-wallets-eip-3074">integrating EIP-3074</a> on X. 
Derivatives Monke has <a href="https://twitter.com/Derivatives_Ape/status/1781786712764494010" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">replied</a> to an X user who criticized Monke over ZKasino’s recent decision and, in another post, <a href="https://twitter.com/Derivatives_Ape/status/1782055234380185601" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">shared</a> his project’s latest X post with the caption “keep building.”
Web3 Gamer: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/web3-gamer-bitcoin-halving-shrapnel-delabs-games-rumbles-racing-star/">Bitcoin Halving will pump games, Shrapnel’s ‘simple’ secret revealed</a>

ZKasino users fuming as $33M in promised refunds are instead sent to Lido

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