Since its inception, Web3 has been a hotbed of innovation, counter-culture ideas and financial freedom – but as with any breakthrough medium, it’s also seen scammers, charlatans and bad actors. One man has made it his sole mission to investigate and catch the worst of the worst. That person is ZachXBT.
Dedicating his time to looking into on-chain fraud, ZachXBT has shone a light on some of the biggest acts of chicanery on the blockchain. Whether its chasing crypto, NFT or digital collectibles scams, he has helped countless victims to recover their funds and get justice, making Web3 a better place at every turn.
ZachXBT is one of the most widely respected, praised and appreciated figures in Web3 – but how did he come to prominence, what are some of his biggest investigations, and what can we expect from him in future?
Here’s our complete 2025 guide to ZachXBT.
Key Insights
- Pseudonymous Web3 investigator
- Known for revealing large-scale blockchain-based scams and thefts
- Began his investigative work in 2018
- Has directly recovered or helped to seize over $500 million USD in assets
- One of the most respected, praised and appreciated figures in Web3
Who is ZachXBT?
ZachXBT is a pseudonymous crypto investor and Web3 investigator.
Little is known about the person behind the alias. We know that he is a long-time cryptocurrency investor – since at least 2017 – and that he largely began his investigative activities in 2018.
Since then, ZachXBT has become a prominent sleuth in the Web3 community. His work has directly led to the reveal of multi-million dollar scams, frauds and trickery concerning digital assets, becoming a leading figure for ‘good’ in the industry.
His avatar – a cartoon platypus wearing a detective’s cloak with four eye-holes – has become a symbol for retribution, vengeance and justice, becoming well-recognised across the Web3 space as a force to be reckoned with.
Although we know very little about the true nature of ZachXBT – likely shielding his real identity for protection – he has earned an unmatched reputation for his meticulous blockchain analysis, his talents for digital investigation, and for the extreme dedication to his craft.
What does ZachXBT do?
ZachXBT specialises in tracing stolen digital assets and exposing fraudulent schemes within both the crypto and NFT markets. Using his expertise of blockchain technology, he follows digital trails left by scammers and hackers, monitoring cryptocurrency exchanges and blockchain networks for the movement of misappropriated funds.
In short, his work largely involves:
- Tracking suspicious transactions: Keeping an eye on blockchain activity to spot abnormal transfers that may be connected to theft or fraud.
- Exposing scams: Identifying and calling out crypto projects and NFT collections that mislead investors or engage in unethical practices.
- Collaborating with authorities: ZachXBT shares his findings with law enforcement agencies like the FBI and regional law enforcement agencies, aiding in arrests and the recovery of stolen funds.
- Publishing investigations: Posting detailed reports on social media, providing evidence such as wallet addresses and transaction histories connected to on-chain fraud.
ZachXBT has largely operated on donations and grants from figures within the Web3 community, and describes his work as a public service, rather than a tool for personal gain. More recently, ZachXBT has began to take more official roles in Web3 teams and crypto-based investment firms – though retains his independent status.
Over the years, ZachXBT’s efforts have directly led to the recovery or seizure of well over $500 million USD in stolen funds, as well as the warrants, prosecutions and arrests of many of the most egregious blockchain-based fraudsters.
How did ZachXBT get started?
ZachXBT began his journey in much the same way as you did – as a simple cryptocurrency enthusiast exploring this exciting new world.
In 2017, he invested in a selection of crypto tokens that would become rug pulls – where the creators abandoned the assets after securing investments. After that, 2018 saw one of his wallets be hacked, resulting in the loss of $15,000 USD in cryptocurrency.
These losses spurned ZachXBT into understanding the mechanics of blockchain technology, how exactly these scammers had got their hands on his funds, and if there was a way to discover who these people are and get his funds back.
He began by analysing blockchain transactions, discovering common patterns and methods used by bad actors to conceal the movement of stolen funds. Realising that many others were falling victim to the same scams, ZachXBT began exposing these unethical practices to protect other enthusiasts from suffering the same fate.
As the years progressed, ZachXBT would expose ever bigger examples of fraud, schemes and rug pulls, gathering a huge following on social media that today stands at over 825,000 followers on X. Today, he is a full-time investigator, dedicating his time to discovering fraud, protecting the community, and holding wrongdoers accountable.
What are some of ZachXBT’s most notable investigations?
ZachXBT has played a major role in numerous high-profile investigations that span the entirety of the Web3 industry. Some of his most notable investigations include:
The Bitcoin Heist
In August 2023, ZachXBT uncovered one of the largest individual crypto thefts ever recorded.
Whilst at an airport, he began to receive alerts on unusually large Bitcoin transactions, totalling $243 million USD. Sensing that something was amiss, he began to trace the funds and discovered that they originated from a wallet that had been inactive since 2012.
By the time his flight had landed, he’d identified three main suspects: Malone Lam, Jeandiel Serrano and Veer Chetal. Over the next few weeks, he worked to trace the stolen funds and gather evidence, leading to the arrest of the two named suspects who were found living lavish lifestyles funded by the stolen Bitcoin.
Authorities seized or froze $79 million USD of the stolen funds, with the rest still being tracked down.
Pixelmon
Pixelmon is a project that first emerged in 2022, stating their intentions to build a 3D Pokémon-style game that was funded through an NFT collection.
The project raised approximately $70 million USD by promising high-quality, interactive 3D NFTs tied to this forthcoming game – though when the NFTs were revealed, they were of brutally poor quality, leading to much public outrage.
ZachXBT investigated the situation and discovered widespread misappropriation of the $70 million USD fund. This included spending 400 ETH to purchase blue-chip NFTs such as Bored Apes and Azuki. September 2022 saw the installation of a new leadership team, and a long road to recovery that continues to this day.
Rogue Society
Rogue Society is a 15,777-piece NFT collection on Ethereum that intended to build an expansive IP.
Launched in September 2021, Rogue Society raised $5.5 million USD but failed to deliver on its promises post-mint. ZachXBT looked into the founder, Jahvin Bowman (@LecheTheMilky), and revealed that the project was a slow-moving scam.
ZachXBT would go on to uncover that the team had been staging a fake pay-to-enter competition, siphoning even more funds from the community.
Logan Paul
At the height of the altcoin markets, internet personality Logan Paul began to promote a variety of memecoins to his millions of followers around the world.
ZachXBT discovered that these were largely ‘pump-and-dump’ scams, where Paul and the token creators would earn large amounts and his fans would lose out.
Some of these dubious projects included DinkDoink, Elongate and $FLOKELON, with further coins and continuing accusations following Paul to this day – particularly surrounding his failed CryptoZoo project.
BitBoy Crypto (Ben Armstrong)
At one point in time, BitBoy Crypto was the undisputed #1 crypto influencer, with hundreds of thousands of followers receiving his tips on the latest coins and assets.
ZachXBT investigated BitBoy Crypto and found that he had promoted numerous scam projects in exchange for significant fees – ranging between $2,500 USD and $40,000 USD depending on the support desired.
Despite BitBoy’s claims of thoroughly vetting projects that paid him, ZachXBT provided substantial evidence of his involvement with at least seven scam projects that defrauded investors – and later controversies would see BitBoy largely disappear from the industry altogether.
Machi Big Brother
Jeff Huang, also known as Machi Big Brother, is a Taiwanese entrepreneur and prominent NFT collector.
ZachXBT conducted an investigation into some suspect transactions involving Huang, which concluded in an article accusing him of involvement in multiple fraudulent activities. This included the misappropriation of funds from leading blockchain treasury platform Formosa Financial.
In response, Huang filed a defamation lawsuit against ZachXBT in June 2023. ZachXBT received substantial support from the crypto community, including donations from major industry companies such as Coinbase, Binance and OKX to aid in his legal defence.
North Korean hackers
Much of ZachXBT’s recent work has involved in exposing hacks of North Korean origin, or revealing North Korean citizens that were secretly working as remote developers for Web3 projects.
These activities have resulted in the discovery of over $200 million USD in stolen funds across 25 thefts – half of which had yet to be public knowledge. This helped to freeze millions in stolen assets, and provided rich insights into how North Korean hackers were infiltrating Web3 firms to facilitate these thefts.
ZachXBT has had, and continues to have, a profound impact on the Web3 industry.
His reputation across the community is unmatched, and his efforts have led to an industry that’s more transparent today than ever before. Bad actors know that there’s nowhere to hide their on-chain actions – and that’s led to a noticeable decline in frauds and scams over the past few years.
ZachXBT’s identity may remain a mystery, but his actions speak volumes – and his name will go down in Web3 history as a symbol of the togetherness, empathy and support that categorises the Web3 community.
Bullish on web3. Competitive soul.