aPriori Denies Insider Involvement as Sybil Attack Captures 60% of APR Token Airdrop

Web3 startup aPriori has publicly rejected allegations that its team participated in a Sybil attack targeting the October airdrop of its APR token, after blockchain analytics firms Bubblemaps and ZachXBT identified a coordinated cluster of approximately 14,000 wallets claiming 60% of the distribution. The incident, which occurred between October 19 and 20, involved wallets receiving small amounts of BNB to cover gas fees before executing claim transactions, a pattern consistent with Sybil farming operations.

In a social media statement, aPriori asserted, "We found no evidence that anyone on the contributing team or from the foundation has claimed the airdrop," addressing community concerns about potential insider exploitation. The San Francisco-based firm, founded in 2023, had secured $20 million in funding in August led by Pantera Capital, HashKey Capital, and Primitive Ventures, valuing the company at $30 million.

Despite denials, crypto investigators highlighted the uniformity of transactions, suggesting a single operator or small group managed the wallet network to maximize rewards. In response, aPriori introduced revised guidelines for its upcoming Monad Mainnet airdrop, set to launch on November 24. Under the new framework, users can immediately unlock 15% of their allocation (up from 12%), with an additional 45% accessible by depositing assets worth five times the airdrop value for 14 days. The remaining 85% of tokens will be claimable six months post-launch.

Community reaction has been mixed, with users like IbrahimXBT accusing the project of orchestrating a "second phase of rug pull," while others blamed professional airdrop farmers. Bubblemaps CEO Nick Vaiman criticized aPriori's initial response as "dismissive," noting the project suggested a potential leak enabled the farming activity.