ZachXBT Exposed as Zachary Wolk in Thread Alleging Conflicts of Interest and Selective Investigations

A viral X thread published by user Matthew (@matthewabides) on May 22, 2026, claims to expose the prominent on-chain investigator ZachXBT as “Zachary Wolk,” while also accusing him of conflicts of interest tied to crypto firms and industry figures who allegedly funded him over the last several years.

The thread quickly gained traction across crypto social media, surpassing 1 million views within hours. Matthew described the post as an investigation into the investigator himself, arguing that ZachXBT had spent years exposing fraud while avoiding scrutiny over his own relationships and funding sources.

Matthew said he is from a small Eastern European country and that this was his first post on X. He added that he had followed ZachXBT for more than a year. His interest in investigating ZachXBT began after he observed that ZachXBT had changed.

Court Records and Public Profiles Linked ZachXBT to “Zachary Wolk”

Matthew said the first major clue came from a 2023 defamation lawsuit filed against ZachXBT by crypto trader Machi Big Brother. According to the thread, public court documents from the case identified the defendant as “Zachary Wolk” from Kingsland, Texas, potentially revealing the real identity behind the pseudonymous blockchain investigator for the first time.

He linked directly to the court filing hosted on CourtListener and highlighted paragraph 14, which states: “Defendant Zachary Wolk, residing in Kingsland, Texas.” Matthew argued that the disclosure was accidental and became publicly accessible through the federal court system after the lawsuit was filed.

After finding the name in court records, Matthew said he used open-source intelligence, or OSINT, methods to trace additional public information connected to Zachary Wolk. He pointed to a public Swimcloud profile belonging to a “Zach Wolk” from Texas who competed for Austin Swim Club between 2009 and 2015.

According to the profile, the swimmer participated in Texas State Championship events in 2014 and 2015 while attending Vandegrift High School in Austin. Matthew claimed that the timeline matched details previously shared by ZachXBT about his age and background.

Matthew said that the @zachxbt X account was created in February 2015, the same period as the swimmer’s final state championship appearances. Matthew referenced earlier comments from ZachXBT stating that he entered crypto around 2017 during his college years, claiming the timeline aligned with a 2016 high school graduation.

As an additional connection, Matthew cited a 2017 article from local outlet Four Points News that mentioned Zachary Wolk as a former Vandegrift swimmer and included photos.

Matthew claimed he later uncovered more recent personal information, including a current address, but said he chose not to publish those details.

Thread Questioned ZachXBT’s Investigative Methods and Industry Relationships

Matthew’s thread also focused on two separate incidents that he argued raised questions about ZachXBT’s methods and influence inside the crypto industry.

The first involved LAB founder Vova Sadkov. Matthew referenced a May 7 post from ZachXBT offering a $10,000 bounty for information connected to Sadkov and the market maker allegedly used for LAB trading activity across Bitget, Bybit, Binance, and OKX perpetual markets.

Matthew argued that requesting or paying for passport information could violate US federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 1028, which covers identity document fraud and misuse.

Matthew then shifted to a separate controversy surrounding ZachXBT’s February 2026 investigation into crypto trading platform Axiom.

ZachXBT teased an upcoming report involving “one of crypto’s most profitable businesses” before the investigation was published. The post quickly drew attention across crypto social media, with Polymarket later launching a prediction market tied to whether Axiom would be accused of insider trading. Matthew claimed the market generated $40 million in trading volume.

The thread cited blockchain tracking posts from Lookonchain that highlighted several newly created wallets placing large bets on the outcome before publication of the report. One wallet identified as “predictorxyz” reportedly wagered nearly $66,000 when the odds were still low and later earned more than $400,000 in profit after the market moved.

The group of 12 wallets collectively generated around $1.2 million from the event.

ZachXBT’s original investigation thread stated that he had contacted the Axiom team for comment before publication. Matthew argued that the outreach process may have unintentionally allowed insiders or connected parties to trade on advance knowledge of the report before it became public.

Thread Revisited ZACHXBT Meme Coin Sale and Industry Funding

Matthew’s thread also revisited a January 2025 meme coin incident involving a token called ZACHXBT, which was launched by an anonymous developer and heavily promoted across crypto social media.

The developer transferred 500 million ZACHXBT tokens, 50% of the total supply, directly to a wallet associated with ZachXBT shortly after launch. The token’s market capitalization later climbed to $88 million during peak trading activity.

The thread alleged that ZachXBT later withdrew approximately 16,059 SOL, valued at around $3.87 million at the time, by adding and removing liquidity from the token pool before transferring the funds to Wintermute.

Matthew criticized the move and argued that ZachXBT profited from a speculative token tied to his own online identity. He also referenced ZachXBT’s public response at the time, in which the investigator said the token allocation was unsolicited and that he sold the tokens to protect his “name and reputation.”

The thread argued that the proceeds could have instead been used to support investigations or create a public treasury tied to anti-scam research efforts.

Matthew then shifted to ZachXBT’s industry funding and relationships with major crypto companies following the 2023 defamation lawsuit filed by Machi Big Brother.

According to the thread, ZachXBT launched a “community defense fund” after the lawsuit became public and raised $1.1 million in donations from crypto founders, exchanges, and industry figures.

Matthew listed contributions allegedly linked to Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, TRON founder Justin Sun, Kraken co-founder Jesse Powell, and Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal. The thread also claimed ZachXBT later received additional grants or funding from Optimism, Hyperliquid, BC.GAME, and Bybit, while venture capital firm Paradigm hired him as an advisor.

Matthew argued that the financial relationships created potential conflicts of interest, questioning whether major industry players who supported ZachXBT financially were less likely to be targets of his investigations.

The thread specifically highlighted Hyperliquid as an example. Matthew claimed ZachXBT published seven critical investigations involving the platform between December 2024 and January 2026 before later receiving 10,000 HYPE tokens from the Hyperliquid Foundation.

Screenshots attached to the thread referenced reports valuing the grant at $254,000 at the time of transfer, while Matthew claimed the tokens were worth closer to $600,000 at current market prices.

Matthew alleged that ZachXBT stopped publishing critical investigations involving Hyperliquid after receiving the grant, describing the sequence of events as evidence that large industry players could influence independent investigators through donations and financial support.

The thread concluded by arguing that public figures who investigate others should be held to the same standards they apply to the crypto projects and individuals they expose.