TL;DR
- ZKasino fails to fulfill promise of refunds worth $33 million.
- Users report transfer of funds to Lido and changes in the cryptocurrency return plan.
- Revelations from a developer question the technology used by the platform.
In the midst of a scenario of uncertainty and discontent, the blockchain-based gaming platform, ZKasino, has generated strong criticism and controversies among its users and the crypto community in general.
The company, which promised to return $33 million in refunds to its users, has diverted these funds towards the Lido staking protocol, thus failing to fulfill its initial commitment and generating concern and outrage among its investors and users.
The drama began to unfold following a statement issued by ZKasino on April 20, announcing the launch of its network.
More than 10,000 users had invested a total of 10,515 Ether (ETH) in the platform, with the expectation of being able to recover their funds as promised by the company.
However, ZKasino modified its original plan and converted all ETH into ZKAS tokens at a discounted price of $0.055, with an investment period of 15 months.
These sudden changes and lack of transparency from ZKasino have sparked even more controversy after an on-chain transfer was revealed showing that the company moved all of its users ETH to the Lido staking protocol.
Additionally, an anonymous developer known as “cygaar” has publicly questioned the technology used by ZKasino, pointing out that the chain launched by the company does not include zk or EigenDA technology as previously claimed.
The funniest part of the Zkasino drama is that the chain they released has no zk tech in it at all (nor does it use EigenDA).
It's an Arbitrum Nitro chain that took 2 minutes to deploy.
They put ZERO effort into scamming everyone lmao. pic.twitter.com/VkKYZWttGl
— cygaar (@0xCygaar) April 21, 2024
The reaction from the community was immediate, with hundreds of users expressing their discontent and accusing ZKasino
Some have even spread personal information and the address of ZKasino founder “Derivatives Monke“, urging legal action against the company.
The situation has been further complicated by claims from venture capital firm Big Brain Holdings, which calls the platform fraudulent and denies having invested in it, despite previous claims of partnership.
Meanwhile, both ZKasino and its associated entities have avoided giving clear comments or answers, leaving the community with more questions than answers.
The ZKasino case reflects the risks and challenges faced by the crypto community in terms of transparency, keeping promises, and protecting the interests of investors and users.