{"investigation":{"slug":"elephant-money","entity_name":"Elephant Money","trust_score":10,"severity_base":null,"score_modifier":0,"confidence":0.82,"status":"published","content_type":"investigation","summary":"Elephant Money is a Binance Smart Chain DeFi protocol offering the ELEPHANT reward token and TRUNK stablecoin that suffered a $22.2 million flash loan price-manipulation exploit in April 2022, with stolen funds laundered through Tornado Cash. Independent analysts have additionally alleged that the protocol's yield mechanics constitute a structurally unsustainable Ponzi scheme dependent on continuous new capital inflows.","sections":[{"content":"Elephant Money launched in May 2021 on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) under the tagline 'Cash Flow For All.' The protocol is built around two primary assets: ELEPHANT, a deflationary reward token with a circulating supply of approximately 500 trillion, and TRUNK, an algorithmic stablecoin soft-pegged to $1 USD that is 75% backed by BUSD and 25% backed by ELEPHANT. The protocol offered multiple yield products including 'Stampede' bonds advertising 0.56% daily returns (205–672% APY compounded), and 'Farms' for liquidity provision. ELEPHANT carries a 10% transaction tax split equally between liquidity and redistribution to existing holders. The protocol was audited by Solidity Finance and CertiK prior to launch; however, the CertiK audit, completed March 26, 2021, resulted in a security score of 30/100 (grade D), with all eight flagged findings left unresolved. The sole identified founder operates under the pseudonym 'Bankteller,' claims an MIT computer science background and 25 years in fintech, and has disclosed no real-world identity or KYC documentation. The team was described by the founder as consisting of no other developers, with this cited as a 'maximum security' feature.","heading":"Background","sources":[{"url":"https://nydripper.medium.com/bankteller-ama-summary-03-29-2022-founder-of-elephant-money-3cf3ca025a94","name":"","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://skynet.certik.com/projects/elephant","name":"","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://medium.com/@HackLaddy/elephant-money-a-complex-scam-3277338547c1","name":"","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"On April 12, 2022, Elephant Money's reserve was drained in a flash loan price manipulation attack. The attacker, whose address (0xe552133cc829a7f7e98e349763fac7ab0f3828b0) was initially funded via Tornado Cash, obtained flash loans of 131,162 WBNB and 91,035,000 BUSD. The attacker swapped the WBNB for approximately 34.244 sextillion ELEPHANT tokens, artificially inflating the ELEPHANT price. During the TRUNK minting process, the protocol's contract automatically used deposited BUSD to purchase more WBNB and then ELEPHANT, further amplifying the artificial price spike. The attacker collected inflated TRUNK while holding an elevated ELEPHANT position, then unwound both for profit — generating approximately $4 million per cycle — and repeated the cycle multiple times. The official Elephant Money post-mortem acknowledged $11.2 million in losses, but blockchain security firm PeckShield calculated the total at $22.2 million when including approximately 30.4 trillion ELEPHANT tokens not initially disclosed. Stolen funds were bridged to Ethereum and laundered through Tornado Cash, dispersed across at least three identified addresses holding 472, 473.4, and 472.1 ETH respectively. An example exploit transaction is documented at BSCScan hash 0xec317deb2f3efdc1dbf7ed5d3902cdf2c33ae512151646383a8cf8cbcd3d4577. Solidity Finance's audit, conducted before launch, failed to identify the price manipulation vulnerability that enabled the attack. BlockSec characterized it as a 'traditional price manipulation attack.' The ELEPHANT token dropped approximately 76–88% immediately following the exploit. TRUNK depegged to approximately $0.78 before partial recovery. As of May 2026, TRUNK remains significantly depegged from its $1 target, and the ELEPHANT token trades at approximately $0.000000074 per token with a market cap near $20 million, down catastrophically from pre-exploit levels.","heading":"Exploits","sources":[{"url":"https://rekt.news/elephant-money-rekt","name":"","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://de.fi/blog/price-manipulation-attack-elephant-money-loses-22-2-million-aab84e469350","name":"","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://medium.com/elephant-money/reserve-exploit-52fd36ccc7e8","name":"","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://therecord.media/hackers-steal-more-than-11-million-from-elephant-money-defi-platform","name":"","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.pymnts.com/cryptocurrency/2022/hackers-attack-elephant-money-defi-platform-steal-over-11m/","name":"","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"On-chain forensics corroborate multiple concerning data points. The attacker address 0xe552133cc829a7f7e98e349763fac7ab0f3828b0 was funded from Tornado Cash prior to the attack, a pattern consistent with intentional obfuscation of the attacker's identity. Post-exploit, stolen funds were dispersed to at least three Ethereum addresses and routed through Tornado Cash: approximately 1,500 BNB (~5% of stolen funds) deposited to Tornado Cash and approximately 3,472 ETH ($10 million equivalent at the time) moved to Ethereum. The initial Tornado Cash funding transaction is documented at BSCScan hash 0xf678370cf3ee8d5df5ae319577b46bf3834ec6ffb44f2c1ebe86ed702b0b22a2. The ELEPHANT token contract includes modifiable tax functions, pausable transfer functionality, and owner privilege features including balance modification capabilities, as flagged by CertiK's Skynet monitoring. No bug bounty program — CertiK-hosted or third-party — has been active on the protocol. The protocol was ranked #28 on the REKT hack leaderboard at the time of the exploit. As of May 2026, the ELEPHANT/WBNB pair on PancakeSwap v2 records approximately $26,000 in daily trading volume, indicating minimal market activity.","heading":"On-Chain Evidence","sources":[{"url":"https://de.fi/blog/price-manipulation-attack-elephant-money-loses-22-2-million-aab84e469350","name":"","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://skynet.certik.com/projects/elephant","name":"","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://rekt.news/elephant-money-rekt","name":"","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.aliens.com/livenews/latest/the-initial-funds-that-launched-the-elephant-money-hack-came-from-tornado-cash","name":"","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"The sole publicly identified figure behind Elephant Money is the pseudonymous founder known as 'Bankteller' (abbreviated BT). In a March 2022 AMA, Bankteller described an MIT background in computer science with a specialization in AI and graphics, claimed over 25 years working with two major financial institutions in fintech, and stated that the protocol had no other developers — citing this single-developer model as a security feature. No real name, corporate registration, regulatory license, or verifiable institutional affiliation has been publicly confirmed. CertiK has not verified the team's identity, and no KYC documentation has been provided to any known third party. The protocol does not disclose a registered legal entity. The single-developer structure means there is no publicly accountable party for the $22.2 million loss suffered by users. Some sources have identified the founder as 'Tony Perkins, CEO of Mako Labs,' but this has not been independently verified by any Tier 1 or Tier 2 source and should be treated as unconfirmed.","heading":"Team","sources":[{"url":"https://nydripper.medium.com/bankteller-ama-summary-03-29-2022-founder-of-elephant-money-3cf3ca025a94","name":"","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://skynet.certik.com/projects/elephant","name":"","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://lighthousecrypto.com/passive/elephant-money/","name":"","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"Elephant Money presents multiple overlapping risk categories. First, confirmed exploit risk: the April 2022 flash loan attack resulted in a verified loss of $11.2–$22.2 million (sources differ), with stolen funds laundered through Tornado Cash and never recovered. The auditing firm responsible, Solidity Finance, failed to identify the price manipulation vulnerability that enabled the attack. Second, alleged structural unsustainability: independent analysts writing under the handles HackLaddy (December 2022 and December 2023) have alleged that the protocol's yield mechanisms constitute a Ponzi structure in which investor returns are funded exclusively by new capital inflows rather than external revenue. The 10% transaction tax on ELEPHANT ensures immediate losses on any buy or sell, requiring continuous new participation to break even. The advertised 205% APY on Stampede bonds has been described by critics as mathematically unsustainable without perpetual growth in new deposits. Third, governance and counterparty risk: the anonymous single-developer team provides no legal recourse to users in the event of further losses. There is no bug bounty program. CertiK's security score stands at 30/100. The TRUNK stablecoin has remained persistently depegged from its $1 target, with redemptions available only via a managed queue. Fourth, regulatory risk: the protocol has no disclosed legal entity or regulatory registration, and offers no investor protections. As of May 2026, ELEPHANT trades near $0.000000074 — far below any pre-exploit price level — and the project continues operating with a redemption queue mechanism for TRUNK, indicating ongoing liquidity constraints.","heading":"Risk Assessment","sources":[{"url":"https://medium.com/@HackLaddy/elephant-money-a-complex-scam-3277338547c1","name":"","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://medium.com/@HackLaddy/the-elephant-money-scam-back-for-round-2-77be39143672","name":"","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://rekt.news/elephant-money-rekt","name":"","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://skynet.certik.com/projects/elephant","name":"","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/elephant-money","name":"","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2021-03-26","event":"CertiK audit completed; protocol receives 30/100 security score with 8 findings, all left unresolved","source":""},{"date":"2021-05","event":"Elephant Money launches on Binance Smart Chain with ELEPHANT token and TRUNK stablecoin","source":"","date_original":"2021-05-01"},{"date":"2022-03-29","event":"Founder 'Bankteller' conducts public AMA, describes protocol as valued at $3.5 billion and claims no other developers on team","source":""},{"date":"2022-04-12","event":"Flash loan price manipulation exploit drains $11.2–$22.2 million from protocol reserves; attacker address funded via Tornado Cash; ELEPHANT token drops 76–88%","source":""},{"date":"2022-04-13","event":"Stolen funds bridged to Ethereum and laundered through Tornado Cash; approximately 3,472 ETH ($10M) moved off-chain","source":""},{"date":"2022-04-18","event":"De.fi publishes full analysis placing total losses at $22.2 million including 30.4 trillion ELEPHANT tokens not disclosed in official post-mortem","source":""},{"date":"2022-04","event":"HackLaddy publishes analysis alleging Ponzi structure, calling 205% APY unsustainable and dependent on new investor capital","source":"","date_original":"2022-04-01"},{"date":"2023-12-26","event":"HackLaddy publishes follow-up analysis after Elephant Money revamp, maintaining allegations of structurally unsustainable yield and Ponzi mechanics","source":""},{"date":"2026-05-19","event":"ELEPHANT token trades near $0.000000074 with ~$20M market cap; TRUNK remains significantly depegged; redemptions available only via managed queue","source":""}],"sources_used":[{"url":"https://nydripper.medium.com/bankteller-ama-summary-03-29-2022-founder-of-elephant-money-3cf3ca025a94","name":"","type":"other","archive_url":null,"credibility":3,"archive_error":"error:no-request","archive_status":"unarchivable","archive_timestamp":null},{"url":"https://skynet.certik.com/projects/elephant","name":"","type":"other","archive_url":null,"credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":null},{"url":"https://medium.com/@HackLaddy/elephant-money-a-complex-scam-3277338547c1","name":"","type":"other","archive_url":null,"credibility":3,"archive_error":"forbiddenaccess","archive_status":"unarchivable","archive_timestamp":null},{"url":"https://rekt.news/elephant-money-rekt","name":"","type":"other","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260415162928/https://rekt.news/elephant-money-rekt","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-04-15T16:29:28+00:00"},{"url":"https://de.fi/blog/price-manipulation-attack-elephant-money-loses-22-2-million-aab84e469350","name":"","type":"other","archive_url":null,"credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":null},{"url":"https://medium.com/elephant-money/reserve-exploit-52fd36ccc7e8","name":"","type":"other","archive_url":null,"credibility":3,"archive_error":"error:no-request","archive_status":"unarchivable","archive_timestamp":null},{"url":"https://therecord.media/hackers-steal-more-than-11-million-from-elephant-money-defi-platform","name":"","type":"other","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260517121928/https://therecord.media/hackers-steal-more-than-11-million-from-elephant-money-defi-platform","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-05-17T12:19:28+00:00"},{"url":"https://www.pymnts.com/cryptocurrency/2022/hackers-attack-elephant-money-defi-platform-steal-over-11m/","name":"","type":"other","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260524131820/https://www.pymnts.com/cryptocurrency/2022/hackers-attack-elephant-money-defi-platform-steal-over-11m/","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-05-24T13:18:20+00:00"},{"url":"https://www.aliens.com/livenews/latest/the-initial-funds-that-launched-the-elephant-money-hack-came-from-tornado-cash","name":"","type":"other","archive_url":null,"credibility":3,"archive_error":"error:no-job","archive_status":"unarchivable","archive_timestamp":null},{"url":"https://lighthousecrypto.com/passive/elephant-money/","name":"","type":"other","archive_url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20260830043226/https://www.hugedomains.com/domain_profile.cfm?d=lighthousecrypto.com","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-08-30T04:32:26+00:00"},{"url":"https://medium.com/@HackLaddy/the-elephant-money-scam-back-for-round-2-77be39143672","name":"","type":"other","archive_url":null,"credibility":3,"archive_error":"error:no-request","archive_status":"unarchivable","archive_timestamp":null},{"url":"https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/elephant-money","name":"","type":"other","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260616071246/https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/elephant-money","credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":"2026-06-16T07:12:46+00:00"}],"source_tags":["defillama"],"addresses":[{"chain":"solana","label":"Elephant Money Stable (Wormhole) (TRUNK)","address":"9mV4WUukVsva5wYcYW4veo34CNDiF44sh3Ji65JNdvh5"}],"reviewed":false,"reviewed_by":null,"model_used":"claude-sonnet-4-6","created_at":"2026-05-04T02:54:50.081179+00:00","updated_at":"2026-08-30T05:14:13.595563+00:00"}}