OpenSea Faces Questions Over Former Employee's Alleged Involvement in AnubisDAO Scandal

OpenSea addresses ex-employee's ties to AnubisDAO scandal, denies involvement

OpenSea, a prominent platform for Nonfungible tokens (NFTs), has become embroiled in allegations and speculations concerning its ex-employee, Kevin Pawlak. These claims arose from social media accusations connecting Pawlak to the AnubisDAO financial scandal of 2021. The allegations first emerged from an account called NFT Ethics and gained support from blockchain analytics account Lookonchain. These suspicions prompted OpenSea to clarify Pawlak's connection to the digital identity "0xSisyphus" and his alleged role in questionable business activities.

Allegations suggest Pawlak promoted AnubisDAO project and potential wrongdoing

NFT Ethics and Lookonchain suggested that 0xSisyphus had links to Pawlak and implied that he played a significant part in promoting the AnubisDAO project to potential investors. They alleged that the project swiftly transferred newly acquired funds to multiple external wallets, triggering a financial scandal.

NFT Ethics went a step further, suggesting that Pawlak was deliberately involved in the AnubisDAO financial debacle, possibly collaborating with other developers and using the digital currency Pepe (PEPE) to launder allegedly ill-gotten gains.

OpenSea clarifies lack of knowledge about Pawlak's activities

OpenSea, in response to these allegations, clarified its position to Cointelegraph. The company stated that they had no prior knowledge of Pawlak's alleged activities and underscored that Pawlak's role at OpenSea did not involve managerial responsibilities. OpenSea reiterated its lack of association or awareness of the controversial projects linked to Pawlak, emphasizing that these incidents predated his tenure at the company.

AnubisDAO scandal involved a $60 million ETH disappearance in 2021

In a related development in October 2021, AnubisDAO amassed a significant amount of Ether (ETH), valued at $60 million at the time. However, the funds vanished within 20 hours as they were transferred to various wallet addresses, resulting in financial losses for investors.

Blockchain investigator ZachXBT questions allegations, cites lack of evidence

ZachXBT, a well-known figure in blockchain investigations, expressed skepticism regarding the recent allegations. He critiqued the presented argument, highlighting that many claims about 0xSisyphus's involvement in the AnubisDAO incident lacked concrete evidence and relied on unrelated incidents.

0xSisyphus offers reward, cooperates with law enforcement on culprits' identification

Notably, 0xSisyphus had previously offered a 1,000 ETH reward for identifying the wallet address of the culprits and sought assistance from U.S. and Hong Kong law enforcement agencies.
ZachXBT also made a crucial distinction between gross negligence and outright theft in this context, underscoring that 0xSisyphus was actively cooperating with the Department of Homeland Security. He suggested that two digital users, "Beerus" and "Ersan," were likely the primary culprits behind the losses incurred during the AnubisDAO incident.