{"investigation":{"slug":"brooks-bauer","entity_name":"Broox Bauer","trust_score":26,"severity_base":26,"score_modifier":0,"confidence":0.72,"status":"published","content_type":"investigation","summary":"Broox Bauer is a New York-based senior business development employee at Axiom, a Solana-based non-custodial trading platform, who was publicly accused by pseudonymous blockchain investigator ZachXBT on February 26, 2026, of misusing internal customer-support tools to look up users' private wallet data and feed it to associates for alleged insider trading. Axiom confirmed an employee had abused internal tools and said it removed the access and was investigating, but as of this writing no regulator, prosecutor, or court has brought a case, and Bauer has not publicly responded to the allegations.","sections":[{"content":"Broox Bauer (social media handle @WheresBroox) is identified in multiple reports as a senior business development employee at Axiom, a non-custodial Solana trading platform founded in 2024 by Henry Zhang (\"Mist\") and Preston Ellis (\"Cal\") and backed by Y Combinator's Winter 2025 batch. Reports describe Bauer as based in New York. Axiom launched to the public in January 2025 and has reported more than $390 million in cumulative platform revenue. One outlet, The Block, identified the accused employee only by the first name \"Broox\" without independently confirming a surname, while Decrypt, DL News, Cointelegraph, Forklog and Yellow.com all reported the full name \"Broox Bauer.\"","heading":"Identity and Role","sources":[{"url":"https://decrypt.co/359223/y-combinator-backed-axiom-employees-accused-insider-trading-zachxbt","name":"Decrypt: Y Combinator-Backed Axiom Employees Accused of Insider Trading: ZachXBT","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://dlnews.com/articles/defi/axiom-employees-accused-of-insider-trading-using-sensitive-customer-data","name":"DL News: Axiom employees accused of insider trading using sensitive customer data","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/391423/zachxbt-investigation-into-alleged-employee-insider-trading","name":"The Block: ZachXBT investigation into alleged employee insider trading","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"On February 26, 2026, ZachXBT published an investigation alleging that Bauer and other Axiom staff abused privileged access to internal customer-support dashboards to look up users' full wallet lists, linked accounts, transaction histories and wallet nicknames, searchable by referral code, wallet address or user ID. According to audio recordings cited by ZachXBT, a person identified as Bauer said he could \"track any Axiom user\" and \"find out anything to do with that person,\" and described limiting lookups to \"10-20 wallets initially... so it does not look that suspicious.\" The allegations state that Bauer and associates compiled identified wallets — including those of crypto influencers and high-volume traders — into shared Google Sheets, and that the scheme began in early 2025, months after Axiom's January 2025 launch, and continued for roughly a year. Screenshots cited in the reporting are dated to April and August 2025. ZachXBT said several individuals whose wallet data appeared in the leaked material confirmed its accuracy, though he said confirming specific insider trades would require Axiom's own internal trading logs, which he did not have. In a recorded call reported to have taken place in early February 2026, Bauer is alleged to have outlined a plan to help an associate profit approximately $200,000 by exploiting platform access over time. These remain allegations made by a pseudonymous investigator; no court or regulator has made independent findings, and Bauer has not publicly responded.","heading":"Core Allegations: Data Access Abuse and Insider Trading","sources":[{"url":"https://decrypt.co/359223/y-combinator-backed-axiom-employees-accused-insider-trading-zachxbt","name":"Decrypt: Y Combinator-Backed Axiom Employees Accused of Insider Trading: ZachXBT","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://dlnews.com/articles/defi/axiom-employees-accused-of-insider-trading-using-sensitive-customer-data","name":"DL News: Axiom employees accused of insider trading using sensitive customer data","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://yellow.com/news/insider-trading-allegations-hit-axiom-over-access-to-private-wallet-information","name":"Yellow.com: Insider trading allegations hit Axiom over access to private wallet information","type":"news_article","credibility":3},{"url":"https://coin360.com/news/zachxbt-axiom-insider-trading-polymarket-38m-bets","name":"Coin360: ZachXBT, Axiom insider trading, Polymarket $38M bets","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/391423/zachxbt-investigation-into-alleged-employee-insider-trading","name":"The Block: ZachXBT investigation into alleged employee insider trading","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"critical"},{"content":"Reporting identifies several other people allegedly connected to the scheme besides Bauer, though with less corroboration than the allegations against Bauer himself. ZachXBT's material reportedly named an associate called \"Ryan,\" also known by the handle \"Ryucio,\" and a recently hired moderator called \"Gowno,\" also identified as \"Seb,\" who was allegedly the intended beneficiary of the $200,000 plan Bauer described on a recorded call. A third person referred to by the nickname \"Mystery\" was reportedly discussed as being aware of the lookup activity, though this name appears in only a single aggregated account and could not be independently corroborated across multiple primary outlets, so it should be treated as low-confidence. DL News and Decrypt both reported that Axiom's co-founders, Henry Zhang (\"Mist\") and Preston Ellis (\"Cal\"), were not alleged to have known about or participated in the conduct; a Yahoo Finance/Moby report states explicitly: \"There is no evidence that the company's founders were aware of or involved in the alleged misconduct.\"","heading":"Other Individuals Implicated","sources":[{"url":"https://coin360.com/news/zachxbt-axiom-insider-trading-polymarket-38m-bets","name":"Coin360: ZachXBT, Axiom insider trading, Polymarket $38M bets","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://dlnews.com/articles/defi/axiom-employees-accused-of-insider-trading-using-sensitive-customer-data","name":"DL News: Axiom employees accused of insider trading using sensitive customer data","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/news/axiom-insider-trading-scandal-spills-211452093.html","name":"Yahoo Finance (Moby): Axiom's Insider Trading Scandal Spills Into Prediction Markets","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"high"},{"content":"In the days before ZachXBT's publication, a Polymarket contract asking \"Which crypto company will ZachXBT expose for insider trading?\" drew between roughly $23 million and $38.1 million in trading volume, depending on the outlet and the point measured, and resolved with Axiom named as the subject. Several accounts placed large bets on Axiom shortly before the reveal: one trader reportedly bet about $50,700 to $65,800 at odds near 13.8-15.1% and profited between roughly $39,000 and over $411,000 depending on the account; two newly created wallets reportedly bet a combined $59,800 roughly three hours before the disclosure and made about $109,000 in the following hours. Onchain researcher Defioasis said on X that eight of the top 10 profiting wallets were likely insider addresses based on their transaction patterns, and Cointelegraph reported that the top eight wallets collectively netted over $1.2 million while more than 50 other wallets lost a combined roughly $1.23 million betting against Axiom being named. Speculation linked one large winning wallet, \"predictorxyz,\" to Axiom or Pump.fun insiders, which ZachXBT said he could not confirm; he stated he had not communicated with that wallet's operator and said he might have inadvertently leaked information through interviews conducted for the investigation. No outlet reported a confirmed link between Bauer personally and any specific Polymarket wallet; these connections remain speculative and should be treated as low-confidence.","heading":"Related Polymarket Trading Activity","sources":[{"url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/suspected-insider-1-2m-zachxbt-axiom-expose","name":"Cointelegraph: Suspected insiders made over $1.2M on ZachXBT's Axiom exposé","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://coin360.com/news/zachxbt-axiom-insider-trading-polymarket-38m-bets","name":"Coin360: ZachXBT, Axiom insider trading, Polymarket $38M bets","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/news/axiom-insider-trading-scandal-spills-211452093.html","name":"Yahoo Finance (Moby): Axiom's Insider Trading Scandal Spills Into Prediction Markets","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://themarketperiodical.com/2026/02/27/zachxbt-exposes-axiom-company-fires-back-as-smart-money-bets-win-big/","name":"The Market Periodical: ZachXBT exposes Axiom, company fires back as smart money bets win big","type":"news_article","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"Axiom responded publicly on X on February 26, 2026, the day the allegations were published. The company said it was \"shocked and disappointed\" (and, per one outlet's quotation, \"surprised and disappointed\") that someone on its team had abused internal customer-support tools to look up user wallets. It stated: \"We have removed access to these tools and will continue to investigate and hold the offending parties responsible,\" and said the conduct \"does not represent us as a team,\" promising further updates through its official channels. ZachXBT said he had been separately retained to investigate possible misconduct at Axiom and said the platform had \"little to no monitoring or access controls in place\" to prevent the alleged abuse. No outlet reported Bauer or the other named associates issuing a public statement or response as of the most recent reporting found.","heading":"Axiom Exchange's Response","sources":[{"url":"https://decrypt.co/359223/y-combinator-backed-axiom-employees-accused-insider-trading-zachxbt","name":"Decrypt: Y Combinator-Backed Axiom Employees Accused of Insider Trading: ZachXBT","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://dlnews.com/articles/defi/axiom-employees-accused-of-insider-trading-using-sensitive-customer-data","name":"DL News: Axiom employees accused of insider trading using sensitive customer data","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/suspected-insider-1-2m-zachxbt-axiom-expose","name":"Cointelegraph: Suspected insiders made over $1.2M on ZachXBT's Axiom exposé","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"As of the most recent reporting found, no regulator, prosecutor or court had brought a case against Broox Bauer or any other individual named in connection with the Axiom allegations, and no civil lawsuit specific to this conduct was located. ZachXBT noted that because Bauer is reportedly based in New York, any prosecution could potentially fall under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, but this is the investigator's own characterization and not confirmation that any such action is underway. Axiom's internal investigation outcome, any disciplinary action taken against Bauer specifically, and whether he remains employed by the company were not confirmed in available reporting. Separately, unrelated SEC and class-action matters exist involving a different, unrelated company also named \"Axiom Holdings, Inc.\" (a penny-stock issuer); these should not be confused with Axiom the Solana trading platform or with Broox Bauer, and this page does not describe them.","heading":"Legal and Regulatory Status","sources":[{"url":"https://dlnews.com/articles/defi/axiom-employees-accused-of-insider-trading-using-sensitive-customer-data","name":"DL News: Axiom employees accused of insider trading using sensitive customer data","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://coin360.com/news/zachxbt-axiom-insider-trading-polymarket-38m-bets","name":"Coin360: ZachXBT, Axiom insider trading, Polymarket $38M bets","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"low"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2024","event":"Axiom is founded by Henry Zhang (\"Mist\") and Preston Ellis (\"Cal\").","source":"DL News","source_url":"https://dlnews.com/articles/defi/axiom-employees-accused-of-insider-trading-using-sensitive-customer-data"},{"date":"2025-01","event":"Axiom publicly launches its Solana trading platform.","source":"DL News","source_url":"https://dlnews.com/articles/defi/axiom-employees-accused-of-insider-trading-using-sensitive-customer-data"},{"date":"2025","event":"Alleged misuse of internal lookup tools by Bauer and associates reportedly begins, months after Axiom's launch.","source":"DL News","source_url":"https://dlnews.com/articles/defi/axiom-employees-accused-of-insider-trading-using-sensitive-customer-data"},{"date":"2025-04","event":"Screenshots later cited by ZachXBT show internal Axiom dashboards displaying private wallet data tied to specific traders.","source":"Yellow.com","source_url":"https://yellow.com/news/insider-trading-allegations-hit-axiom-over-access-to-private-wallet-information"},{"date":"2025-08","event":"Further screenshots cited by ZachXBT, from this month, show additional internal dashboard data.","source":"Forklog","source_url":"https://forklog.com/en/news/zachxbt-accuses-axiom-employee-of-insider-trading"},{"date":"2026-02","event":"In a recorded call reported to be from early this month, Bauer allegedly outlines a plan to help an associate profit roughly $200,000 by abusing platform access.","source":"DL News","source_url":"https://dlnews.com/articles/defi/axiom-employees-accused-of-insider-trading-using-sensitive-customer-data"},{"date":"2026-02-26","event":"ZachXBT publishes his investigation publicly naming Broox Bauer and alleging insider trading via misuse of Axiom's internal customer-support tools.","source":"Decrypt","source_url":"https://decrypt.co/359223/y-combinator-backed-axiom-employees-accused-insider-trading-zachxbt","date_evidence":"Blockchain investigator ZachXBT named him in an X thread on Thursday, February 26, 2026."},{"date":"2026-02-26","event":"Axiom responds on X, saying it is \"shocked and disappointed,\" has removed the implicated tool access, and will investigate and hold responsible parties accountable.","source":"The Block","source_url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/391423/zachxbt-investigation-into-alleged-employee-insider-trading","date_evidence":"Axiom's response (February 26, 2026, on X)"},{"date":"2026-02","event":"Cointelegraph and other outlets report that suspected insider-linked Polymarket wallets collectively profited over $1.2 million betting on which company ZachXBT would expose.","source":"Cointelegraph","source_url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/suspected-insider-1-2m-zachxbt-axiom-expose","date_original":"2026-02-27"}],"sources_used":[{"url":"https://decrypt.co/359223/y-combinator-backed-axiom-employees-accused-insider-trading-zachxbt","name":"Decrypt: Y Combinator-Backed Axiom Employees Accused of Insider Trading: 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