A cryptic social media post from renowned on-chain investigator ZachXBT has ignited a speculative storm in the crypto community, leading to over $2.2 million in bets on prediction market Polymarket. ZachXBT announced on X that a "major investigation" into insider trading at "one of crypto's most profitable businesses" would be released on February 26. He did not name the target company.
Within hours, traders rushed to bet on which firm would be exposed. As of the reporting, Meteora, a Solana-based trading infrastructure provider, leads the Polymarket odds. It is followed by crypto exchange MEXC, meme coin launch platform Pump.fun, and governance token project World Liberty Financial (WLFI).
The speculation around Meteora stems from its role in high-volume meme coin liquidity and previous community scrutiny over politically-linked token activity. MEXC has been a frequent subject of social media debates concerning listing behavior and alleged trading patterns. Pump.fun remains in focus due to its central position in the meme coin launch economy and ongoing community scrutiny over potential unfair advantages during token launches.
World Liberty Financial entered the betting conversation following a separate incident on February 23, where its stablecoin USD1 briefly depegged. WLFI blamed a "coordinated attack" involving hacked co-founder accounts and fear-mongering. This event, coupled with existing rumors, placed the firm on traders' radars.
In a forceful response to the mounting speculation, World Liberty Financial CEO Zach Witkoff issued a detailed denial, calling the insider trading allegations "malicious nonsense." He argued that the firm's structure as a governance token project, not an exchange, makes such misconduct impossible. "Our team does not operate an exchange," Witkoff stated, "and therefore we possess no access to the proprietary order book or user data that could facilitate traditional insider trading."
The situation underscores the powerful influence of anonymous investigators and the intense scrutiny facing crypto projects regarding transparency and governance. The market now awaits ZachXBT's report on February 26, which will confirm or dispel the community's fears.
