“Really am unsure how much longer I can continue doing this. It’s been fun, but burnout is a real thing, and it has taken a toll on other aspects of my life.”
ZachXBT is a pseudonymous on-chain researcher who often posts on Twitter, captivating an audience of more than 300,000. ZachXBT often digs up information about questionable events — such as alleged scams, crime and the like — acting as a digital detective for the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector.
Armed with a Gitcoin page to source funding for their endeavors, ZachXBT notes that their mission is to expose different allegedly harmful activities in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry. Aiming to improve the sector, the digital detective dawned the deerstalker cap and magnifying glass in response to their first-hand struggles with industry dishonesty, as well as seeing wrongdoing persist in the space over time. The sleuth has raised over $50,000 in funding via Gitcoin.
ZachXBT has protected their identity, evident in the little information available on Google. After scouring blockchain activity, chat groups and other online information and tools, the detective frequently posts on Twitter, publicizing alleged wrongful activities, such as phishing scams, questionable influencer activity, hacks and more. Multi-tweet threads are common for ZachXBT, providing the cryptocurrency space with evidence of what they dug up about various activities and events. Following the trail of funds, comments, events and industry moves on the pursuit of justice has landed ZachXBT a good reputation in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry, with his research featured in articles from various media outlets.
ZachXBT appears to have had a busy year digging up information on the alleged activities of the crypto industry’s underside. ZachXBT posted on Twitter during the year about evidence of questionable activity related to topics such as FTX, nonfungible tokens, influencers, phishing efforts and rug pulls.
In the latter half of 2022, ZachXBT tweeted about feeling worn out, questioning their future as a crypto industry detective. ZachXBT described being unsure about their days ahead, noting they also maintained separate, non-crypto full-time employment while doing all the work for the ZachXBT account.
In October, news hit that French authorities were bringing claims against individuals for allegedly running a phishing operation that pilfered millions of dollars in NFTs. France’s national cyber unit’s deputy chief said ZachXBT’s work and research on the subject assisted in the investigation.
After putting significant time and effort into their detective work, as well as growing a considerable following, ZachXBT may continue their pursuits of justice in the cryptocurrency and blockchain world. They may, however, also decide to hang up the cape, given their 2022 comments about burnout.
ZachXBT also has a blog page on Medium, although the page only has two posts, both from 2022. They also have a page on Mirror.xyz with five posts from 2022. The detective may look to blog a little in 2023, although they may also take an overall step back from their research and endeavors. The start of 2023 showed continued Twitter activity from the digital justice seeker.
