An anonymous X user known as Matthew ignited a firestorm on May 22, 2026, by publishing a long thread that claims to reveal the real identity of prominent blockchain investigator ZachXBT. According to the unverified dossier, the person behind the @zachxbt handle is Zachary Wolk, a former swimmer from Texas. The exposé levels serious accusations of financial ties to major crypto firms, alleging that these relationships have tainted the investigator's objectivity and led to a selective targeting of scammers.
Matthew, who said his account was created this month, asserted that he performed a swift open-source intelligence (OSINT) investigation. He highlighted a 2023 defamation lawsuit filed by Jeffery Huang (Machi Big Brother) against ZachXBT in a Texas federal court. Court records listed the defendant as Zachary Wolk, residing in Kingsland, Texas. Matthew then linked this name to a Swimcloud profile of a swimmer from the Austin Swim Club who competed in the 2014 and 2015 Texas State Championships—right around the time the @zachxbt Twitter handle was registered in February 2015. A 2017 news article from Four Points also referenced a Zachary Wolk as a Vandegrift swimmer, with photographs. Matthew claimed he also uncovered a current address but chose not to publish it, later insisting the thread was “only 20 min OSINT investigation, not a dox.”
The accusations go far beyond mere identification. Matthew accused ZachXBT of accepting over $5 million in “donations” from industry players who almost never feature in his investigations. He cited a community defense fund launched in June 2023 that raised $1.1 million, with notable donors including Changpeng Zhao ($50,000), Justin Sun ($10,000), and contributions from Kraken’s Jesse Powell and Polygon’s Sandeep Nailwal. Matthew further alleged that ZachXBT received $580,000 from Optimism, $254,000 from Hyperliquid, $150,000 from BC.Game, and $53,000 from Bybit, later becoming an advisor for Paradigm.
A central piece of the fraud allegation revolves around Hyperliquid (HYPE). Between December 2024 and January 2026, ZachXBT published seven critical reports on Hyperliquid. Then, on January 18, 2026, he received 10,000 HYPE tokens worth approximately $600,000. Matthew pointed out that for the next four months, no investigative reports on Hyperliquid appeared on ZachXBT’s feed. Separately, Matthew drew attention to a February 2026 teaser about a “major investigation” into a profitable crypto business, which triggered a Polymarket prediction market with over $40M in volume. He claimed 12 new wallets bet on Axiom at low odds and made $1.2M, and that ZachXBT’s contact with the Axiom team for comment may have caused a leak that let insiders profit before the public report.
Additional claims include the ZACHXBT token saga. In January 2025, an anonymous developer transferred 50% of the total supply (500 million tokens) to ZachXBT’s wallet when the project’s valuation reportedly hit $88 million. ZachXBT subsequently sold 16,059 SOL (worth $3.87 million at the time). Matthew argued the sell-off was an attempt to maintain reputation. He also criticized a $10,000 bounty posted by ZachXBT on May 7, 2026, for passport details of LAB founder Vova Sadkov, stating that paying for government IDs could violate 18 U.S.C. § 1028 and carry up to 15 years in prison.
Despite the damning narrative, many replies defended ZachXBT. One user called doxxing “kinda weird” given the dangers of his work; another dismissed the thread as “just fluff with no clear results.” Matthew responded that he had not published everything, while another commenter noted he was criticizing someone who tracks Lazarus Group and terrorist finance. Shortly after the thread, ZachXBT ignored the identity allegations and instead responded to a user seeking help from KuCoin, stating that “Kucoin does not assist victims or law enforcement” and allows dirty activity when it generates fees.
