The chief executive of blockchain gaming platform Axie Infinity is debunking reports that he moved millions of dollars in AXS as the protocol’s sidechain was hacked to the tune of $600 million.
A recent report by Bloomberg details how a crypto wallet belonging to Axie Infinity CEO Trung Nguyen moved about $3 million worth of AXS to crypto exchange giant Binance hours before the announcement that the gaming protocol’s Ronin Bridge sidechain was hacked.
In March this year, bad actors exploited the Ronin Network, the Ethereum-linked sidechain specifically designed for AXS, and stole over $600 million worth of crypto assets.
However, Nguyen tells his 31,600 Twitter followers in a lengthy thread that the accusations of insider trading are “baseless and false,” and that he views the hack as a learning experience.
“When the founding team discovered the security breach, we were in close contact with Binance to discuss the closing of the bridge, and how to ensure user funds would be restored as soon as possible. This discussion included the fact that Sky Mavis would provide liquidity while we worked on a full backing of the bridge.
The founding team chose to transfer it from my wallet to ensure that short sellers, who track official Axie wallets, would not be able to front-run the news.
This story includes speculation of insider trading. These accusations are baseless and false. In fact, the founding team even deposited $7.5 million from a known Axie multi-sig wallet to Ronin Network prior to the bridge closing to avoid triggering any short-sellers watching.”
Nguyen goes on to remind everyone that all stolen user funds have been restored fully and that AXS will continue building.
“As you know, the Bridge has been re-opened with all player funds backed 1:1. Many in the media have conveniently ignored this, as it doesn’t fit their predetermined narratives.
Since the hack, we have been building relentlessly and will continue pushing forward with the best community in Web3.”
AXS is trading for $18.99 at time of writing, a 2.5% decrease on the day.
