{"investigation":{"slug":"anubisdao","entity_name":"AnubisDAO","trust_score":2,"severity_base":null,"score_modifier":0,"confidence":0.91,"status":"published","content_type":"investigation","summary":"AnubisDAO was an OlympusDAO fork that launched on October 28, 2021, and raised approximately 13,556 WETH (roughly $60 million) in under 20 hours through a Copper Liquidity Bootstrapping Pool. Before the sale concluded, the entire pool was drained to an external wallet, wiping investors to zero; on-chain investigator ZachXBT later identified two pseudonymous actors — Beerus and Ersan — as the likely perpetrators, and traced the stolen funds through Tornado Cash in 2023. No criminal charges have been publicly confirmed, no investor recovery has occurred, and the ANKH token is worthless.","sections":[{"content":"AnubisDAO was promoted beginning October 28, 2021, as a canine-themed fork of OlympusDAO, a popular DeFi reserve currency protocol. The project used the ANKH token and conducted its public raise via Copper's Liquidity Bootstrapping Pool (LBP) mechanism on Balancer. It had no website, no white paper, and all known team members operated under pseudonyms. Despite the absence of standard due-diligence materials, the project attracted heavy retail interest following the broader meme-coin and DeFi bull market of late 2021. Within approximately 20 hours of launch it accumulated 13,556.36 WETH from investors — equivalent to roughly $57–$60 million at contemporaneous ETH prices.","heading":"Overview and Launch","sources":[{"url":"https://decrypt.co/84924/anubisdao-investors-lose-60-million-in-alleged-rug-pull","name":"decrypt.co","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://protos.com/crypto-investors-anubisdao-lose-60-million-rug-pull-phishing-attack/","name":"protos.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://medium.com/@fjordfoundry/a-statement-from-the-copper-team-regarding-the-anubisdao-token-launch-on-copper-f78be774d9ec","name":"medium.com","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"On October 29, 2021, approximately four hours before the scheduled end of the 24-hour LBP, all liquidity was withdrawn from the pool in a single transaction and redirected to an external wallet (0x9fc53c75046900d1f58209f50f534852ae9f912a). Copper later confirmed that neither the Copper platform nor Balancer's underlying smart contracts were exploited — the LBP creator simply exercised the technical ability to remove liquidity. Investors who contributed WETH were left holding illiquid ANKH tokens with no market, effectively losing their entire stake. The Copper team subsequently removed the LBP from their UI discovery list and disabled a copycat malicious project that appeared within hours of the incident.","heading":"The Rug Pull — Fund Drainage","sources":[{"url":"https://medium.com/@fjordfoundry/a-statement-from-the-copper-team-regarding-the-anubisdao-token-launch-on-copper-f78be774d9ec","name":"medium.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://decrypt.co/84924/anubisdao-investors-lose-60-million-in-alleged-rug-pull","name":"decrypt.co","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://protos.com/crypto-investors-anubisdao-lose-60-million-rug-pull-phishing-attack/","name":"protos.com","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"Two conflicting accounts emerged immediately after the drainage. The pseudonymous co-founder known as 0xSisyphus stated that the 'critical mistake' was granting sole control of the LBP wallet to a single developer, Beerus, and asserted 'with a high degree of certainty' that the incident was not a phishing attack but rather the act of a rogue team member. Beerus — who also operated the Twitter handle @cryptofan777 — publicly claimed to have opened a malware-laden PDF email, allegedly compromising the private keys to the pool wallet. Security researchers cited by 0xSisyphus reportedly found no evidence of malicious code in the email. Notably, Beerus's personal wallet remained unaffected by the alleged exploit, which on-chain analysts cited as inconsistent with a genuine phishing compromise. Beerus stated he was cooperating with police and 'complying with all investigations.' The receiving wallet address (0x9fc53c75046900d1f58209f50f534852ae9f912a) had been publicly posted by the @beerus Twitter account as early as March 18, 2021, months before launch.","heading":"Competing Narratives — Rug Pull vs. Phishing Claim","sources":[{"url":"https://protos.com/crypto-investors-anubisdao-lose-60-million-rug-pull-phishing-attack/","name":"protos.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://decrypt.co/84924/anubisdao-investors-lose-60-million-in-alleged-rug-pull","name":"decrypt.co","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/investors-rug-pulled-after-pouring-57m-into-dog-themed-olympusdao-fork","name":"cointelegraph.com","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"AnubisDAO launched with no public-facing website, no audited smart contracts, no white paper, and a team composed entirely of pseudonymous individuals. The known pseudonyms include 0xSisyphus, Beerus (also @cryptofan777 / @m1), and other unidentified contributors. This anonymity was not disclosed as a risk factor during the public raise. The absence of any verifiable legal entity, registered jurisdiction, or identifiable founders meant investors had no recourse through conventional legal or regulatory channels. The project's Discord and Twitter accounts went dark after the incident. The LBP platform Copper operated on a permissionless basis and did not vet project founders before listing.","heading":"Anonymous Team and Absence of Accountability Structures","sources":[{"url":"https://protos.com/crypto-investors-anubisdao-lose-60-million-rug-pull-phishing-attack/","name":"protos.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://medium.com/@fjordfoundry/a-statement-from-the-copper-team-regarding-the-anubisdao-token-launch-on-copper-f78be774d9ec","name":"medium.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.cryptopolitan.com/anubisdao-rug-pulls-investors/","name":"cryptopolitan.com","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"On-chain investigator ZachXBT published a detailed thread on July 20, 2023, analyzing $60 million in AnubisDAO rug-pull funds that had moved for the first time — approximately eight months after the initial theft. ZachXBT identified a pattern of funds being withdrawn from Tornado Cash in 100 ETH increments, bridged to Polygon, and then consolidated into two exchange deposit addresses: 0x51da686c7a2f973ad11fafed6ce9a3ffc020349f and 0x253d7ba533b7d13720fb5ec5a7d1e64d4ff3f58b. The first address was attributed to a pseudonymous individual known as Ersan, described as a close associate of Beerus. ZachXBT noted that Beerus's wallet (bsl.eth) had sent 95 ETH to the Ersan-linked address. Ersan was additionally alleged to be involved in operating CSGORoll, described as a scam online casino. ZachXBT assessed Beerus and Ersan as the most likely primary culprits in the fund drainage, while criticizing 0xSisyphus for 'gross negligence' and 'lying' regarding the team multisig, but stopping short of accusing 0xSisyphus of theft. By July 2023, approximately 9,500 ETH had been laundered through Tornado Cash, making AnubisDAO's exploiter the largest single ETH depositor to Tornado Cash in 2023, post-OFAC blacklisting.","heading":"On-Chain Investigation — ZachXBT Analysis","sources":[{"url":"https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1682047031420829696.html","name":"threadreaderapp.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://crypto.news/possible-identities-of-anubisdao-rug-pull-suspects-revealed/","name":"crypto.news","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://cryptonews.net/news/security/21342116/","name":"cryptonews.net","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/anubis-dao-rug-pull-money-washes-away-on-tornado-cash","name":"cointelegraph.com","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"In October 2023, pseudonymous investigator NFT Ethics published a thread alleging that 0xSisyphus was Kevin Pawlak, a former Head of Ventures at OpenSea. The thread claimed Pawlak had engaged in pump-and-dump schemes and attempted to sell AnubisDAO exposure to Alameda Research. OpenSea stated it was 'unaware' of any involvement by Pawlak in the AnubisDAO incident and noted he worked in a non-management, limited-scope role and departed the company in June 2023. ZachXBT publicly disputed the NFT Ethics thread, calling it 'one of the most mid-curve' analyses he had seen, noting it relied on assumptions rather than on-chain evidence and that many alleged connections were 'not factually related.' ZachXBT reiterated that Beerus and Ersan were the more credible suspects. The Pawlak identification remains unverified and is considered low-confidence by the primary on-chain investigator covering this case.","heading":"Allegations Linking 0xSisyphus to Kevin Pawlak (OpenSea)","sources":[{"url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/opensea-kevin-pawlak-sisyphus-accused-rug-pull","name":"cointelegraph.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://protos.com/from-60m-failure-to-crypto-scam-cop-the-reinvention-of-0xsisyphus/","name":"protos.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://nftnewstoday.com/2023/10/10/former-opensea-executive-accused-of-links-to-anubisdao-rug-pull/","name":"nftnewstoday.com","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"Following the drainage, 0xSisyphus stated that multiple U.S. law enforcement agencies were notified of the theft, and that he was the only team member in contact with U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Beerus filed a police report with Hong Kong police and reportedly surrendered one personal computer as evidence. A 1,000 ETH reward (approximately $4 million at the time) was offered by 0xSisyphus for information leading to fund recovery. The Crypto Times reported in November 2021 that law enforcement in multiple jurisdictions had begun preliminary inquiries. No public arrests, charges, or prosecutions have been reported as of 2026. No victim recovery program has been established.","heading":"Law Enforcement Engagement","sources":[{"url":"https://cryptoslate.com/police-forces-jump-into-anubisdao-saga-after-60-million-rug/","name":"cryptoslate.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2021/11/02/police-force-investigating-anubisdaos-rug-pull-incident/","name":"cryptotimes.io","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://protos.com/crypto-investors-anubisdao-lose-60-million-rug-pull-phishing-attack/","name":"protos.com","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"The stolen 13,556 ETH remained dormant for approximately eight months. In June 2022, The Block reported funds moved for the first time, with 1,018 ETH sent via Tornado Cash. Activity continued through 2023, with funds being laundered in 100 ETH batches through Tornado Cash (post-OFAC blacklisting of the protocol), bridged to Polygon, and deposited into exchange accounts. By mid-2023, approximately 9,500 of the 13,556 ETH had been laundered. Separate reporting noted batches worth approximately $5.5 million and $5.9 million moved in April 2023. The use of Tornado Cash after OFAC sanctions — imposed in August 2022 — may constitute additional legal exposure for the perpetrators, though no enforcement action has been announced.","heading":"Continued Fund Laundering Activity (2022–2023)","sources":[{"url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/154004/anubisdao-funds-move-for-the-first-time-eight-months-after-rug-pull","name":"theblock.co","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/anubis-dao-rug-pull-money-washes-away-on-tornado-cash","name":"cointelegraph.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://crypto.news/anubisdao-funds-move-rug-pull-1018-eth-tornado-cash/","name":"crypto.news","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies/news/crypto-markets-bleed-as-anubisdaos-55-million-worth-of-stolen-ethereum-eth-on-the-move-202304082253","name":"fxstreet.com","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"Following AnubisDAO's collapse, 0xSisyphus did not face confirmed legal consequences and instead rebuilt a public profile on X (formerly Twitter), amassing approximately 153,000 followers as a self-described blockchain fraud investigator. Protos reported in 2024 that this rehabilitation was enabled in part by the crypto community's short memory and the absence of new users who were unaware of the AnubisDAO history. ZachXBT has acknowledged the 'gross negligence' of 0xSisyphus in the design of the project's custody structure but has not publicly accused them of direct theft. The situation illustrates a pattern of pseudonymous actors in crypto escaping accountability for catastrophic losses.","heading":"Post-Incident Conduct of 0xSisyphus","sources":[{"url":"https://protos.com/from-60m-failure-to-crypto-scam-cop-the-reinvention-of-0xsisyphus/","name":"protos.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/opensea-kevin-pawlak-sisyphus-accused-rug-pull","name":"cointelegraph.com","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"AnubisDAO exhibited numerous red flags that were identifiable before the loss of funds: (1) No website or white paper at launch; (2) Entirely pseudonymous team with no verifiable credentials; (3) Single-developer custody of the entire liquidity pool, with no multisig or timelock; (4) Launch with no smart contract audit; (5) Permissionless Copper LBP listing with no platform vetting; (6) Canine-themed branding characteristic of speculative meme projects; (7) The destination wallet address had been pre-registered by Beerus months before launch, suggesting premeditation. These factors collectively represent a textbook high-risk DeFi launch environment.","heading":"Red Flags and Risk Factors","sources":[{"url":"https://decrypt.co/84924/anubisdao-investors-lose-60-million-in-alleged-rug-pull","name":"decrypt.co","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://protos.com/crypto-investors-anubisdao-lose-60-million-rug-pull-phishing-attack/","name":"protos.com","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://blinagency.medium.com/anubis-dao-rug-pull-report-fd92f8b211ee","name":"blinagency.medium.com","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2021-03-18","event":"Beerus posts the receiving wallet address (0x9fc53c75046900d1f58209f50f534852ae9f912a) on Twitter — months before AnubisDAO's launch — later cited as evidence of premeditation.","source":""},{"date":"2021-10-28","event":"AnubisDAO launches a 24-hour Liquidity Bootstrapping Pool on Copper, raising 13,556 WETH (~$60M) from retail investors with no website, white paper, or audited contracts.","source":""},{"date":"2021-10-29","event":"Approximately four hours before the LBP close, all 13,556 WETH is drained from the pool and transferred to the pre-registered external wallet, rendering ANKH tokens worthless.","source":""},{"date":"2021-10-29","event":"0xSisyphus publicly accuses Beerus of being a rogue team member; Beerus claims the wallet was compromised via a phishing email. Copper confirms its platform was not exploited.","source":""},{"date":"2021-10-30","event":"0xSisyphus announces a 1,000 ETH reward for information leading to fund recovery and states that multiple U.S. law enforcement agencies have been notified.","source":""},{"date":"2021-10-31","event":"Beerus files a police report with Hong Kong authorities and surrenders a personal computer as evidence.","source":""},{"date":"2021-11-02","event":"The Crypto Times reports that law enforcement in multiple jurisdictions, including the U.S. and Hong Kong, has begun preliminary investigation into the incident.","source":""},{"date":"2022-06","event":"AnubisDAO stolen funds move for the first time — approximately eight months after the rug pull — with 1,018 ETH sent via Tornado Cash mixer.","source":"","date_original":"2022-06-01"},{"date":"2023-04","event":"Continued Tornado Cash laundering activity: batches worth approximately $5.5M and $5.9M are moved and bridged to Polygon.","source":"","date_original":"2023-04-01"},{"date":"2023-07-15","event":"Large-scale Tornado Cash laundering resumes; the 13,556 ETH (then worth ~$26M) is moved in 100 ETH increments, making AnubisDAO's exploiter the largest ETH depositor to Tornado Cash in 2023.","source":""},{"date":"2023-07-20","event":"ZachXBT publishes on-chain analysis thread identifying Beerus (bsl.eth) and Ersan (0x51da686c7a2f973ad11fafed6ce9a3ffc020349f) as the most likely fund recipients, and linking Ersan to CSGORoll scam operations.","source":""},{"date":"2023-10-06","event":"Pseudonymous investigator NFT Ethics alleges that 0xSisyphus is Kevin Pawlak, former Head of Ventures at OpenSea, claiming premeditation and PEPE laundering. OpenSea denies knowledge of any involvement.","source":""},{"date":"2023-10-10","event":"ZachXBT disputes the NFT Ethics thread as lacking on-chain evidence, reiterating that Beerus and Ersan are the primary suspects; OpenSea issues formal denial of any Pawlak connection to the incident.","source":""}],"sources_used":[{"url":"https://decrypt.co/84924/anubisdao-investors-lose-60-million-in-alleged-rug-pull","name":"decrypt.co","type":"other","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260606201454/https://decrypt.co/84924/anubisdao-investors-lose-60-million-in-alleged-rug-pull","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-06-06T20:14:54+00:00"},{"url":"https://protos.com/crypto-investors-anubisdao-lose-60-million-rug-pull-phishing-attack/","name":"protos.com","type":"other","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260609054914/https://protos.com/crypto-investors-anubisdao-lose-60-million-rug-pull-phishing-attack/","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-06-09T05:49:14+00:00"},{"url":"https://medium.com/@fjordfoundry/a-statement-from-the-copper-team-regarding-the-anubisdao-token-launch-on-copper-f78be774d9ec","name":"medium.com","type":"other","archive_url":null,"credibility":3,"archive_error":"error:no-request","archive_status":"unarchivable","archive_timestamp":null},{"url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/investors-rug-pulled-after-pouring-57m-into-dog-themed-olympusdao-fork","name":"cointelegraph.com","type":"other","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260312113828/https://cointelegraph.com/news/investors-rug-pulled-after-pouring-57m-into-dog-themed-olympusdao-fork","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-03-12T11:38:28+00:00"},{"url":"https://www.cryptopolitan.com/anubisdao-rug-pulls-investors/","name":"cryptopolitan.com","type":"other","archive_url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20260830132339/https://www.cryptopolitan.com/anubisdao-rug-pulls-investors/","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-08-30T13:23:39+00:00"},{"url":"https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1682047031420829696.html","name":"threadreaderapp.com","type":"other","archive_url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20260829195555/https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1682047031420829696.html","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-08-29T19:55:55+00:00"},{"url":"https://crypto.news/possible-identities-of-anubisdao-rug-pull-suspects-revealed/","name":"crypto.news","type":"other","archive_url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20260829191938/https://crypto.news/possible-identities-of-anubisdao-rug-pull-suspects-revealed/","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-08-29T19:19:38+00:00"},{"url":"https://cryptonews.net/news/security/21342116/","name":"cryptonews.net","type":"other","archive_url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20260830163119/https://cryptonews.net/news/security/21342116/","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-08-30T16:31:19+00:00"},{"url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/anubis-dao-rug-pull-money-washes-away-on-tornado-cash","name":"cointelegraph.com","type":"other","archive_url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20260830083539/https://cointelegraph.com/news/anubis-dao-rug-pull-money-washes-away-on-tornado-cash","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-08-30T08:35:39+00:00"},{"url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/opensea-kevin-pawlak-sisyphus-accused-rug-pull","name":"cointelegraph.com","type":"other","archive_url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20260830083836/https://cointelegraph.com/news/opensea-kevin-pawlak-sisyphus-accused-rug-pull","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-08-30T08:38:36+00:00"},{"url":"https://protos.com/from-60m-failure-to-crypto-scam-cop-the-reinvention-of-0xsisyphus/","name":"protos.com","type":"other","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260515173446/https://protos.com/from-60m-failure-to-crypto-scam-cop-the-reinvention-of-0xsisyphus/","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-05-15T17:34:46+00:00"},{"url":"https://nftnewstoday.com/2023/10/10/former-opensea-executive-accused-of-links-to-anubisdao-rug-pull/","name":"nftnewstoday.com","type":"other","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260610061721/https://nftnewstoday.com/2023/10/10/former-opensea-executive-accused-of-links-to-anubisdao-rug-pull","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-06-10T06:17:21+00:00"},{"url":"https://cryptoslate.com/police-forces-jump-into-anubisdao-saga-after-60-million-rug/","name":"cryptoslate.com","type":"other","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260513125216/https://cryptoslate.com/police-forces-jump-into-anubisdao-saga-after-60-million-rug/","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-05-13T12:52:16+00:00"},{"url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2021/11/02/police-force-investigating-anubisdaos-rug-pull-incident/","name":"cryptotimes.io","type":"other","archive_url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20260829201621/https://www.cryptotimes.io/2021/11/02/police-force-investigating-anubisdaos-rug-pull-incident/","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-08-29T20:16:21+00:00"},{"url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/154004/anubisdao-funds-move-for-the-first-time-eight-months-after-rug-pull","name":"theblock.co","type":"other","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260212053902/https://www.theblock.co/post/154004/anubisdao-funds-move-for-the-first-time-eight-months-after-rug-pull","credibility":3,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