ZachXBT Caught in Rug Pull Drama, Spotlighting the Unseen Efforts of Crypto Detectives

Internet sleuth ZachXBT, known for exposing crypto scams, has been accused of pulling the rug out on a memecoin.
Despite his significant contributions to the industry, ZachXBT received little compensation for his work.
ZachXBT sold a portion of tokens gifted to him, leading to accusations of a rug pull.
The crypto community is divided on whether ZachXBT was justified in selling the tokens.

Star Wars fans will recall when Obi-Wan accused his apprentice, Anakin, of ‘becoming the very thing [he] swore to destroy.’

Well, 20-year-old spoilers aside, some believe prominent internet sleuth ZachXBT may have followed the Anakin Skywalker storyline a little too closely.

The social media ‘detective’ has nearly one million followers on Twitter and has made a huge impact in reducing scams and exposing bad actors within the crypto industry.

However, ZachXBT has now been accused by the community of pulling the rug out on a memecoin – becoming the kind of person he’d normally target.

To haphazardly include another pop culture quote: ‘You either die the hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain’.

Or maybe, just maybe, real life isn’t as simple as superhero flicks would have you believe.

Related: ‘Trump’s Empire’ Game Lets You Go From Mogul to President—And Even Launch a Meme Coin

Internet Sleuth Received Little Compensation for Industry Work

Continuing with the heavy-handed pop culture references, ZachXBT truly was a bit of a Batman figure.

He was essentially a vigilante, working alongside law enforcement and businesses who’d been grifted by crypto con artists.

Zach’s work even made it to the United Nations, as he provided feedback on their efforts against North Korean cyber hackers like Lazarus Group.

He also provided assistance to the US Government when they lost about US $20m (AU $32m) worth of crypto.

However, it turns out that ZachXBT didn’t make a dime off his night shifts as crypto’s Batman.

One of my biggest regrets here is not prioritizing making money.
Doesn’t help I have little business sense.
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) January 20, 2025

ZachXBT Converts Millions of Dollars in Tokens, Causing Price Tumble

All the while, the fallout from the Trump family’s memecoin furore was (and still is) hurtling at full throttle.

As part of the wave of personality-inspired projects, someone created a ZachXBT token on the Solana network. The project’s unknown developers proceeded to send Zach 50% of the total supply, which he used to provide liquidity and then withdraw Solana.

In simple terms, Zach sold a decent portion of the tokens gifted to him (worth over US $3m) and transferred them to trading firm Wintermute, resulting in the rug pull accusations.

However, ZachXBT argued that the token was made in his honour, and therefore he has a right to some of its proceeds – especially after years of unpaid Good Samaritan work within the industry.

Many have argued the internet detective was well within his rights to sell his portion of Zach – it was a gift of a project he didn’t create, after all.

But not everyone is convinced:

(1/4) Im sad to see that @zachxbt using the “trump meme” narrative to rug the community out of millions. But im not surprised after few weeks ago there were hard evidence onchain him insider trading.
Read the thread to find out how to rugg without being accused rugging.
— yannickcrypto.eth (@YannickCrypto) January 21, 2025