Across Protocol Team Accused of a $23M Grab; Co-Founder Responds

Ogle, a pseudonymous crypto sleuth and founder of Layer 1 project Glue, has alleged that the Across Protocol team used a web of undisclosed wallets to steer DAO votes in their favor, which enabled the team to transfer almost $23 million from the Across DAO treasury to their private company, Risk Labs.

According to Ogle, while Across operates under the appearance of decentralized governance, insiders, including project lead Kevin Chan and CEO Hart Lambur, orchestrated governance proposals requesting large grants from the DAO under the premise of benefiting the protocol but used hidden, insider-linked wallets to manufacture the appearance of broad community support.

Allegations of $23M DAO Manipulation

Ogle, who also happens to be an adviser for Donald Trump-tied WLFI, claimed that on-chain traces suggest that wallets tied to Chan, including “maxodds.eth,” and others, funded by Lambur and team members, cast decisive “yes” votes to pass treasury proposals that may not have cleared quorum otherwise.

He also spoke about a 2023 proposal that transferred 100 million ACX, then valued around $15 million, to Risk Labs under terms that stated the tokens would not be sold for two years, though later discussions indicated token option sales to strategic investors, contradicting initial claims.

A subsequent proposal seeking 50 million ACX, worth $7.5 million, also passed with heavy insider wallet support, with Ogle noting that Chan’s wallets accounted for nearly half of the “yes” votes.

The pattern, Ogle claimed, indicates that the team proposed and passed grants to their private for-profit entity while maintaining a facade of community governance. He added that these contradict core DAO principles designed to protect against conflicts of interest by ensuring that those controlling a protocol cannot quietly benefit at the expense of the broader token holder community.

Ogle also disclosed he holds a long position in the ACX token and has previously transacted with the team. He stated that the alleged misuse of hidden votes to secure large token transfers to Risk Labs not only drains DAO resources but also creates future sell pressure for holders.

Lambur Responds: “We Did Nothing Wrong”

Lambur, for one, refuted the allegations, calling them “completely untrue.” The exec clarified that Risk Labs is a nonprofit Cayman foundation, not a private for-profit entity, and operates under fiduciary responsibilities.

He also explained that the DAO proposals followed transparent processes with public discussions and a seven-day voting period that received no objections. Lambur stated that team members are allowed to buy ACX tokens with personal funds and vote in DAO proposals without disclosing all wallet addresses, while noting that addresses like “maxodds.eth” are publicly linked to Chan and were not used secretly.

The co-founder of Across Protocol denied claims that the team sold granted tokens early, pointing out that the Risk Labs multisig still holds more tokens than were granted, aligning with the stated vesting commitments.

Lambur acknowledged room for improvement in explicitly disclosing voting participation within proposals but rejected the notion that the DAO votes were manipulated, and stressed Across’s steady protocol growth and commitment to transparency. Lashing out at Ogle’s credibility and motives, he tweeted,

“Ogle is completely anonymous, although he was recently (and credibly) accused of insider trading on the Trump memecoin. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but this guy isn’t exactly the most credible actor in our space. Ogle: I doubt I’ll get an apology from you for your incredibly dishonest post. But I hope you think twice before accusing other good teams in the future.”