Key Private Key Breach at DEXX Exchange Shocks Community; Multiple KOLs Face Criticism for Uninformed Endorsements; Losses Exceed 100 Million
In this bull market, the Shiba Inu coin ecosystem has flourished. Besides the proliferation of token issuance platforms like pump.fun across various chains, many individuals have also turned to building so-called trading bots or Shiba Inu-themed websites. Today’s protagonist, DEXX, is one such platform, branding itself as the “Binance on the chain” and vowing to bring the trading experience on the blockchain closer to that of centralized exchanges. However, just as team members were enjoying themselves in Bangkok, news broke out about a private key leak.
### Promoting Centralized Exchange Experience for Shiba Inu
Most users in Taiwan started engaging with DEXX between September and October due to its commission-sharing mechanism similar to traditional exchanges. As a result, many KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) promoted DEXX. The interface of DEXX resembles that of a nascent exchange, providing basic token information such as the top ten holdings, whether liquidity has been burned, and if minting rights have been abandoned. It also displays popular tokens and uses bullet messages to alert smart money entering the market.
### DEXX Redefining Non-Custodial Wallets? Suspected Insider Theft
Recently, it was reported that DEXX’s private key had been leaked. The image shows that the number of people in the维权 group has already exceeded 100. SlowMist founder Yu Xian stated that DEXX’s private key was leaked in plain text. Theoretically, for non-custodial wallets, the official should not hold users’ private keys, but the screenshot clearly shows the private key and its content displayed in the webpage code.
He also noted that the stolen funds have been transferred to different wallets, and three days ago, Monero was used to prepay for gas fees, indicating a premeditated plan. Whether this is a hack or an insider job remains unknown. Currently, individual victims have lost millions, and over 500 help requests have been received. There is a concern that after hackers aggregate tokens, they might crash the market for certain coins.
(Scammers Beware! Insights into Monero, Mixers, and Cross-Chain Blockchain Money Laundering Techniques from a Billion-Yuan Scam Case)
According to online reports, one of the aggregation addresses may already hold assets worth over 100 million. It is rumored that one of the founding teams of DEXX is @honza204, a team from Hangzhou, who is currently in Bangkok according to his Twitter. He claimed that they did not rug pull and have isolated some users, promising to compensate them. However, plugging this large hole may prove extremely difficult.
### KOLs Recommending Products Without Due Diligence, Causing User Losses
On Twitter, someone compiled a list of Chinese KOLs promoting DEXX, including one named Youmin, who reportedly set up multiple Matrix accounts to promote DEXX. However, this list does not mention KOLs from Taiwan. The Chain News team had noticed DEXX, branded as the “Binance on the chain,” months ago. At the time, many KOLs focused on the commission-sharing mechanism without conducting due diligence (DD) before recommending the product.
In response, GMGN provided the following advice:
a. When using private key wallets, try to minimize the amount of funds in the wallet and promptly transfer profits to reduce risk.
b. For users with higher security requirements, it is recommended to use cold wallets for transactions, even if it means sacrificing some transaction speed, as it provides better security.
