{"investigation":{"slug":"0g-labs","entity_name":"0G Labs","trust_score":43,"severity_base":null,"score_modifier":-5,"confidence":0.72,"status":"published","content_type":"investigation","summary":"0G Labs (Zero Gravity Labs) is a Web3 AI infrastructure company building a modular, AI-first layer-1 blockchain and decentralized AI operating system, having raised $325 million across multiple funding rounds since March 2024. The project has faced a protocol-level smart contract exploit in December 2025 ($516K lost), a separate compromise of its official social media account in October 2025, and significant community criticism over alleged funding misrepresentation, undisclosed insider token allocations, and concerns that two co-founders departing from Conflux Network constituted a reputational 'soft rug' of that project. No regulatory actions have been identified as of May 2026.","sections":[{"content":"0G Labs, also branded as Zero Gravity Labs, was publicly launched on March 26, 2024, with the announcement of a $35 million pre-seed funding round — at the time one of the largest pre-seed raises in Web3 infrastructure. The project aims to build a decentralized AI operating system (deAIOS) consisting of a high-throughput layer-1 blockchain, a decentralized storage layer, verifiable AI inference, and a service marketplace. The founding team includes Michael Heinrich (CEO), who previously founded Garten, a wellness technology company; Ming Wu (CTO), a co-founder and former CTO of Conflux Network and eleven-year veteran of Microsoft Research Asia; Fan Long (CSO), also a Conflux co-founder and University of Toronto Assistant Professor; and Thomas Yao (CBO), founding partner of IMO Ventures and former HTC Vive executive. The project claims throughput of 50 Gbps against a claimed competitor baseline of 1.5 MBps, and demonstrated 11,000 transactions per second per shard on testnet. The Aristotle Mainnet launched on September 21, 2025.","heading":"Project Overview and Founding","sources":[{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/26/0g-labs-launches-with-whopping-35m-pre-seed-to-build-a-modular-ai-blockchain/","name":"techcrunch.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://chainwire.org/2025/09/22/0g-labs-launches-aristotle-mainnet-with-largest-day-one-ecosystem-for-decentralized-ai/","name":"chainwire.org","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://0g.ai/blog/0g-origin-story","name":"0g.ai","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://chainwire.org/2025/02/13/conflux-co-founder-ming-wu-joins-0g-labs-as-chief-technology-officer/","name":"chainwire.org","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"0G Labs raised a total of $325 million across three tranches. The $35 million pre-seed closed in March 2024, led by Hack VC with participation from Delphi Digital, OKX Ventures, Animoca Brands, Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal, Samsung Next, Bankless Ventures, Stanford Blockchain Fund, and over 40 other institutions. In December 2024, the 0G Foundation announced a $250 million token purchase commitment alongside a $40 million seed equity round. A community backlash followed, as the announcement was widely interpreted as $290 million in cash raised. Post-announcement scrutiny, including a heated AMA covered by Wu Blockchain, revealed the $250 million was structured as a liquid token line — an at-the-market (ATM) facility in which a long-only investor purchases 0G tokens at a predetermined discount to the market price, not cash held in reserve. Critics alleged the project's public framing obscured this distinction, amounting to alleged misrepresentation of fundraising scale. The 0G team, including CEO Michael Heinrich and CTO Ming Wu, defended the disclosure as industry-standard practice. Separately, the $2 billion implied valuation for a pre-revenue project drew scrutiny, with community members challenging comparisons Heinrich drew to OpenAI's valuation. Exact token allocations for Ming Wu, Fan Long, and other founders were not disclosed during the AMA, though the team confirmed a combined team-and-advisor allocation of approximately 22% of total supply.","heading":"Funding Structure and Alleged Misrepresentation","sources":[{"url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/326241/crypto-ai-startup-0g-labs-funding-token-commitment","name":"theblock.co","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://wublockchain.medium.com/heated-ama-debate-0g-team-responds-to-allegations-of-cfx-soft-rug-overvaluation-and-token-ea7a9c58f848","name":"wublockchain.medium.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://0g.ai/blog/0g-ecosystem-receives-290m-in-financing-to-develop-world-s-first-decentralized-ai-operating-system","name":"0g.ai","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://cryptorank.io/ico/0-g-labs","name":"cryptorank.io","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"Community concerns were raised that the departure of Conflux Network's co-founder and CTO Ming Wu, as well as co-founder Fan Long, to form and lead 0G Labs constituted an implicit 'soft rug' of Conflux (ticker: CFX) — a narrative amplified in the Wu Blockchain AMA. Critics argued that two of Conflux's most senior technical architects redirecting their full attention to a new, better-funded venture reduced Conflux's competitive standing and may have disadvantaged CFX token holders. Ming Wu's official transition to 0G Labs as CTO was announced in February 2025. In response, Wu stated that approximately two core Conflux engineers were shared with 0G and that Conflux continued to operate independently. Previous project history for members of the founding team — including an alleged Bitcoin Layer 2 initiative and a BSIM card project — was raised during the AMA as context for alleged pattern of incomplete prior commitments; the team did not substantively address these concerns. No legal claims or regulatory findings have been made in connection with the Conflux departure.","heading":"CFX Soft Rug Allegations and Team Conflict-of-Interest","sources":[{"url":"https://wublockchain.medium.com/heated-ama-debate-0g-team-responds-to-allegations-of-cfx-soft-rug-overvaluation-and-token-ea7a9c58f848","name":"wublockchain.medium.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.chaincatcher.com/en/article/2167402","name":"chaincatcher.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://coinmarketcap.com/academy/article/10ee30b3-d4fa-48a0-b6d6-7eda20c6022e","name":"coinmarketcap.com","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"On December 11, 2025, an attacker exploited the emergencyWithdraw function of a 0G Labs staking rewards distribution contract, draining approximately 520,010 0G tokens, 9.93 ETH, and 4,200 USDT — a combined loss of approximately $516,000. The root cause was a private key that had been stored in plaintext on an AliCloud server instance. Investigators traced the initial breach to exploitation of a critical Next.js vulnerability (CVE-2025-66478) on December 5, 2025, after which the attacker moved laterally across internal IPs, compromising multiple AliCloud services and ultimately accessing the key used to authorize privileged contract functions. Stolen tokens were bridged from the 0G chain to BNB Chain and Ethereum before being routed through Tornado Cash, with activity flagged by CertiK's monitoring systems. The attacker used wallet addresses including 0xF1fAB77c27AEB656EF04D610B8356186c650B74a and 0x1fa71304010Af642067ee284Aae4B48EdfF661E3. The 0G Foundation's public statement confirmed that user funds were unaffected, as the breach was isolated to peripheral reward contracts. No fund recovery was reported. Post-incident security measures announced by the Foundation included private key migration to Trusted Execution Environments (TEE), strengthened multi-signature requirements, and automated anomaly detection. Security firm HackenProof maintains a live bug bounty program for 0G Labs smart contracts.","heading":"December 2025 Smart Contract Exploit ($516K)","sources":[{"url":"https://smartcontractshacking.com/hacks/0g-labs-hack-2025","name":"smartcontractshacking.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://cryptorank.io/news/feed/d13a1-0g-tokens-rewards-contract-exploit","name":"cryptorank.io","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://egw.news/crypto/news/31179/certik-detects-suspicious-tornado-cash-deposits-ti-bzA0oh5no","name":"egw.news","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://bitcoinworld.co.in/0g-tokens-rewards-contract-exploit/","name":"bitcoinworld.co.in","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://hackenproof.com/programs/0g-labs-smart-contracts","name":"hackenproof.com","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"In October 2025, the official 0G Labs X (Twitter) account was compromised by an unknown attacker who posted fake airdrop links and disabled comment functionality — a common pattern used to prevent warnings from reaching community members. At the time of the compromise, 0G Labs had not yet launched its token, which limited direct financial harm. Multiple security outlets and exchanges including Phemex and MEXC issued warnings to users to avoid interacting with links posted from the account. The incident was consistent with a broader wave of phishing campaigns targeting high-profile crypto X accounts. 0G Labs did not publish a detailed post-mortem for this incident.","heading":"October 2025 Social Media Account Compromise","sources":[{"url":"https://phemex.com/news/article/0g-labs-x-account-compromised-fake-airdrop-alert-issued-23969","name":"phemex.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://phemex.com/news/article/0g-labs-x-account-compromised-users-alerted-to-malicious-links-23972","name":"phemex.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.panewslab.com/en/articles/05f2f6fe-5ad8-4e1d-9365-0abb2b180250","name":"panewslab.com","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"The 0G token launched at the Aristotle Mainnet Token Generation Event on September 21, 2025. Total supply allocation was reported as approximately: 28% ecosystem, 22% team and contributors, 22% backers, 15% AI alignment node, and 13% community. Team and backer allocations are subject to a 12-month post-TGE lockup followed by 36-month vesting, fully unlocking at month 48. Approximately 38% of community allocations were released at TGE. The token surged over 500% to approximately $7 shortly after launch before declining sharply; as of early 2026 it was trading near $0.48, representing a greater than 90% drawdown from its post-launch high. The token was listed on Binance, Bitget, HTX, KuCoin (spot and perpetual futures), and other exchanges. A $250 million OTC-style token purchase commitment raised community questions about the potential for structured selling pressure on the open market by the committed investor at a predetermined discount to market price.","heading":"Token Tokenomics, Vesting, and Price Performance","sources":[{"url":"https://0g.ai/blog/how-0g-unlocks-token-release-schedule-and-vesting-explained","name":"0g.ai","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://icoanalytics.org/projects/0g-labs/","name":"icoanalytics.org","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://en.cryptonomist.ch/2025/09/22/0g-labs-launches-aristotle-ai-mainnet-live-token-debut/","name":"en.cryptonomist.ch","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://cryptorank.io/ico/0-g-labs","name":"cryptorank.io","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"ZachXBT, the pseudonymous on-chain investigator who joined Paradigm as an incident response advisor in February 2025, has flagged 0G Labs as a project of concern. The specific basis for ZachXBT's flag as reported on AVOID.NET has not been publicly elaborated in a detailed published thread as of May 2026; no published ZachXBT investigation thread specifically targeting 0G Labs could be independently verified through available public sources at the time of this report. ZachXBT's general investigative focus includes insider token manipulation, undisclosed team allocations, and project misrepresentation — all categories for which 0G Labs has received community-level scrutiny as described in other sections of this report. The stolen funds from the December 2025 exploit were laundered through Tornado Cash, a sanctioned mixer, which may be among the on-chain indicators considered. Users should monitor ZachXBT's Telegram channel (@investigations) and X account for any published findings.","heading":"ZachXBT Flag and On-Chain Risk Indicators","sources":[{"url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZachXBT","name":"en.wikipedia.org","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://egw.news/crypto/news/31179/certik-detects-suspicious-tornado-cash-deposits-ti-bzA0oh5no","name":"egw.news","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://t.me/s/investigations","name":"t.me","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2024-03-26","event":"0G Labs publicly launches with a $35 million pre-seed round led by Hack VC; project described as building a modular AI blockchain.","source":""},{"date":"2024-12","event":"0G Foundation announces $290 million in financing, comprising $40M seed equity and a $250M token purchase commitment; community backlash follows over alleged misrepresentation of the fundraising structure.","source":"","date_original":"2024-12-01"},{"date":"2025-02-13","event":"Conflux Network co-founder Ming Wu officially joins 0G Labs as CTO, prompting CFX soft-rug allegations from the Conflux community.","source":""},{"date":"2025-02","event":"0G Labs announces an $88.88 million Ecosystem Growth Program targeting AI-native dApps and DeFAI agents.","source":"","date_original":"2025-02-01"},{"date":"2025-10-05","event":"Official 0G Labs X account compromised; attacker posts fake airdrop links and disables comments. No token losses reported as the token had not yet launched.","source":""},{"date":"2025-09-21","event":"Aristotle Mainnet launches with Token Generation Event; 0G token lists on Binance, Bitget, HTX, and other exchanges, briefly surging over 500% before declining.","source":""},{"date":"2025-12-05","event":"Attacker exploits CVE-2025-66478 (critical Next.js vulnerability) on 0G Labs' AliCloud infrastructure, beginning lateral movement through internal systems.","source":""},{"date":"2025-12-11","event":"Attacker uses compromised private key to exploit the emergencyWithdraw function of a 0G rewards contract; approximately 520,010 0G tokens, 9.93 ETH, and 4,200 USDT (~$516K total) stolen.","source":""},{"date":"2025-12-13","event":"CertiK flags suspicious Tornado Cash deposits linked to the 0G Labs exploit; stolen tokens traced across BNB Chain and Ethereum bridge addresses.","source":""},{"date":"2025-12","event":"0G Foundation publishes post-mortem on the December 11 exploit, confirming private key compromise via AliCloud breach and announcing TEE migration and multi-sig reinforcement.","source":"","date_original":"2025-12-01"}],"sources_used":[{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/26/0g-labs-launches-with-whopping-35m-pre-seed-to-build-a-modular-ai-blockchain/","name":"techcrunch.com","type":"other","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260718002436/https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/26/0g-labs-launches-with-whopping-35m-pre-seed-to-build-a-modular-ai-blockchain/","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-07-18T00:24:36+00:00"},{"url":"https://chainwire.org/2025/09/22/0g-labs-launches-aristotle-mainnet-with-largest-day-one-ecosystem-for-decentralized-ai/","name":"chainwire.org","type":"other","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260512002313/https://chainwire.org/2025/09/22/0g-labs-launches-aristotle-mainnet-with-largest-day-one-ecosystem-for-decentralized-ai/","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-05-12T00:23:13+00:00"},{"url":"https://0g.ai/blog/0g-origin-story","name":"0g.ai","type":"other","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260608195357/https://0g.ai/blog/0g-origin-story","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-06-08T19:53:57+00:00"},{"url":"https://chainwire.org/2025/02/13/conflux-co-founder-ming-wu-joins-0g-labs-as-chief-technology-officer/","name":"chainwire.org","type":"other","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260313023452/https://chainwire.org/2025/02/13/conflux-co-founder-ming-wu-joins-0g-labs-as-chief-technology-officer/","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-03-13T02:34:52+00:00"},{"url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/326241/crypto-ai-startup-0g-labs-funding-token-commitment","name":"theblock.co","type":"other","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260222011859/https://www.theblock.co/post/326241/crypto-ai-startup-0g-labs-funding-token-commitment","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-02-22T01:18:59+00:00"},{"url":"https://wublockchain.medium.com/heated-ama-debate-0g-team-responds-to-allegations-of-cfx-soft-rug-overvaluation-and-token-ea7a9c58f848","name":"wublockchain.medium.com","type":"other","archive_url":null,"credibility":3,"archive_error":"error:no-request","archive_status":"unarchivable","archive_timestamp":null},{"url":"https://0g.ai/blog/0g-ecosystem-receives-290m-in-financing-to-develop-world-s-first-decentralized-ai-operating-system","name":"0g.ai","type":"other","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260608194440/https://0g.ai/blog/0g-ecosystem-receives-290m-in-financing-to-develop-world-s-first-decentralized-ai-operating-system","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-06-08T19:44:40+00:00"},{"url":"https://cryptorank.io/ico/0-g-labs","name":"cryptorank.io","type":"other","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260415231956/https://cryptorank.io/ico/0-g-labs","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-04-15T23:19:56+00:00"},{"url":"https://www.chaincatcher.com/en/article/2167402","name":"chaincatcher.com","type":"other","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260824011756/https://www.chaincatcher.com/en/article/2167402","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-08-24T01:17:56+00:00"},{"url":"https://coinmarketcap.com/academy/article/10ee30b3-d4fa-48a0-b6d6-7eda20c6022e","name":"coinmarketcap.com","type":"other","archive_url":null,"credibility":3,"archive_error":"error:not-found","archive_status":"unarchivable","archive_timestamp":null},{"url":"https://smartcontractshacking.com/hacks/0g-labs-hack-2025","name":"smartcontractshacking.com","type":"other","archive_url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20260829041252/https://smartcontractshacking.com/hacks/0g-labs-hack-2025","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-08-29T04:12:52+00:00"},{"url":"https://cryptorank.io/news/feed/d13a1-0g-tokens-rewards-contract-exploit","name":"cryptorank.io","type":"other","archive_url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20260830032924/https://cryptorank.io/news/feed/d13a1-0g-tokens-rewards-contract-exploit","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-08-30T03:29:24+00:00"},{"url":"https://egw.news/crypto/news/31179/certik-detects-suspicious-tornado-cash-deposits-ti-bzA0oh5no","name":"egw.news","type":"other","archive_url":null,"credibility":3,"archive_error":"error:no-request","archive_status":"unarchivable","archive_timestamp":null},{"url":"https://bitcoinworld.co.in/0g-tokens-rewards-contract-exploit/","name":"bitcoinworld.co.in","type":"other","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260111152751/https://bitcoinworld.co.in/0g-tokens-rewards-contract-exploit/","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-01-11T15:27:51+00:00"},{"url":"https://hackenproof.com/programs/0g-labs-smart-contracts","name":"hackenproof.com","type":"other","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20250409143715/https://hackenproof.com/programs/0g-labs-smart-contracts","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2025-04-09T14:37:15+00:00"},{"url":"https://phemex.com/news/article/0g-labs-x-account-compromised-fake-airdrop-alert-issued-23969","name":"phemex.com","type":"other","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20251108130413/https://phemex.com/n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