Unveiling Allegations: AnubisDAO and OpenSea

OpenSea, a prominent nonfungible token (NFT) platform, has unequivocally expressed its lack of awareness regarding any indications that might implicate a former staff member in the notorious AnubisDAO rug pull of 2021. This response comes as fresh allegations have emerged and gained traction on various social media platforms.

On the 6th of October, a thread on X (formerly known as Twitter) emerged under the pseudonym NFT Ethics, drawing attention from OpenSea by tagging them. The intention was to provoke a response from OpenSea regarding the claims involving their former head of ventures, Kevin Pawlak, allegedly associated with the pseudonym "0xSisyphus," supposedly linked to "various questionable business transactions."

1/ Dear @OpenSea, what do you think of the fact that your Head of Ventures, Kevin Pawlak, has been involved in various very dubious business dealings (e.g. Anubis) and pump & dump schemes under his pseudonymous identity @0xSisyphus (& 0xMagellan)? pic.twitter.com/GzIVLJirLE

— NFT Ethics (@NFTethics) October 6, 2023

Both NFT Ethics and Lookonchain, a blockchain analytics account, put forth assertions that 0xSisyphus, and thus Kevin Pawlak, played a significant and strategic role in promoting the AnubisDAO project to potential investors. This promotion allegedly occurred just before the project executed the transfer of the freshly acquired funds to a network of external wallets.

In this intricate narrative, the NFT Ethics thread attempted to elaborate on Pawlak's alleged involvement in the AnubisDAO rug pull. It asserted that Pawlak and other developers premeditated this rug pull and subsequently channeled the proceeds through the memecoin Pepe (PEPE).

However, a spokesperson representing OpenSea provided a statement, emphasizing their lack of knowledge regarding Pawlak's involvement in such activities. The spokesperson reiterated that Kevin Pawlak, having left the company in June 2023, held a non-managerial position at OpenSea, thus constraining the scope of his influence. The spokesperson further stated that OpenSea had no information concerning his affiliation with the mentioned projects, reiterating their detachment from the projects in question as these incidents took place before Pawlak's tenure at OpenSea.

Notably, in October 2021, AnubisDAO successfully amassed a substantial amount of 13,556 Ether (ETH), equivalent to approximately $60 million during that time, from crypto investors. However, to the dismay of the investors, within a mere 20-hour period, the funds were dispersed across various wallet addresses, resulting in substantial financial losses.

Adding to the complexity of the situation, blockchain investigator ZachXBT expressed skepticism about the veracity of the allegations. He characterized the NFT Ethics thread as being somewhat lacking in substantial evidence, describing it as "one of the less substantiated ones" he had encountered. ZachXBT highlighted that the thread seemed to draw broad conclusions about 0xSisyphus' purported role in the alleged rug pull without presenting concrete evidence, relying instead on unrelated events.

They will find it anyway, so here is the reason:

(I don’t think thread is conclusive but nevertheless here it is) https://t.co/BouVcARm9a

— Ledger ???????? Prometheus of the Plebs (@ledgerstatus) September 29, 2023

Furthermore, it came to light that 0xSisyphus had, at a point, offered a bounty of 1,000 ETH to anyone who could identify the wallet address responsible for the fund transfer. Additionally, 0xSisyphus engaged law enforcement in both the United States and Hong Kong, further amplifying skepticism regarding the new accusations.

ZachXBT underscored a critical distinction between negligence in handling the AnubisDAO multisig and outright theft from the project. He stated that 0xSisyphus' negligence in managing the multisig was evident, but categorically differentiated it from stealing money from the project. In his view, "Beerus" and "Ersan," two pseudonymous users, were the likely culprits responsible for the fund loss during the AnubisDAO scandal, adding another layer of complexity to the unfolding narrative.

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