OpenSea Unaware of Evidence Supporting Claims Ex-Employee Involved in AnubisDAO Rug Pull

Non-fungible token marketplace OpenSea stated it is unaware of any evidence substantiating recent claims that a former employee participated in the high-profile AnubisDAO rug pull in 2021.

In a Twitter thread, the anonymous account @NFTethics alleged OpenSea’s former head of ventures, Kevin Pawlak, is connected to the pseudonymous identity “0xSisyphus” who supposedly played a key role in promoting AnubisDAO before its catastrophic collapse.

The thread attempted to tie Pawlak and 0xSisyphus together as masterminds who intentionally hyped the project, laundered proceeds through meme token Pepe, then drained the treasury of 13,556 Ether—over $60 million at the time.

However, OpenSea noted to reporters that it knew of no proof indicating Pawlak’s involvement in such activities. The company added that he had limited scope while employed there.

Allegations emerge linking former ventures head to ‘0xSisyphus’ pseudonym

Blockchain investigator ZachXBT also cast doubt on the claims, stating the thread relied on “unrelated events without facts” to draw assumptions about 0xSisyphus being complicit in AnubisDAO’s demise.

In fact, 0xSisyphus publicly offered a 1,000 ETH bounty for information about the draining wallet while working with authorities, seemingly inconsistent with orchestrating the rug pull.

The lack of substantiation makes the allegations appear to be an attempt at connecting dots without evidence. However, OpenSea’s statement does not outright reject the possibility of emerging information linking its former employee.

For now, no definitive proof corroborates the narrative of premeditated fraud by the accused parties. But the episode underscores the opacity around many crypto projects that give rise to abundant speculation in cases of catastrophic losses.

While the truth may eventually surface through blockchain forensics, uncompelling accusations without firm evidentiary basis do little to unravel the AnubisDAO mystery at this stage. Significant unanswered questions remain surrounding the circumstances enabling the massive exploit.