{"investigation":{"slug":"masa","entity_name":"Masa","trust_score":12,"severity_base":null,"score_modifier":0,"confidence":1,"status":"published","content_type":"investigation","summary":"Masa (also known as Masa Finance, later rebranded as Gopher) is a Web3 data and identity protocol that launched a soulbound token standard on Ethereum in 2023 before pivoting to a decentralized AI data network. The MASA token, sold via CoinList in March 2024 at $0.079 and hitting an all-time high of approximately $0.4697 on its April 11, 2024 listing date, subsequently collapsed by over 99.9% to trade near $0.00002 by mid-2026. ZachXBT publicly accused the project of concealing a six-figure security exploit in September 2024, which the team later confirmed only after the allegation was made public.","sections":[{"content":"Masa launched in 2021 as a decentralized credit and identity protocol, co-founded by Brendan Playford (CEO), who previously co-founded Constellation (a DAG-based blockchain) and Pngme (an African fintech credit API). Masa's initial focus was a soulbound token (SBT) protocol on Ethereum, allowing users to mint non-transferable identity tokens including a .soul domain name, a web3 credit score incorporating FICO and Plaid data, and KYC attestations. The protocol launched mainnet in January 2023. In 2024, the project pivoted toward positioning itself as an AI data network, integrating with Bittensor (Subnet 42 for real-time data, Subnet 59 for AI agents) and LayerZero for cross-chain token interoperability. In September 2025 the project rebranded as Gopher, announcing a planned 1:1 token swap from $MASA to $GOAI and a transition to a Cosmos SDK Layer-1 blockchain for AI data. As of mid-2026 the GOAI token had appeared on exchange listings while MASA continued to trade at near-zero values.","heading":"Project Overview","sources":[],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"On or around October 17, 2024, blockchain investigator ZachXBT publicly confronted the Masa team on X (formerly Twitter), alleging the project had concealed a six-figure security exploit that occurred on September 20, 2024. ZachXBT alleged that Masa framed the exploit internally as a routine 'upgrade' rather than disclosing a breach to the community. Following ZachXBT's public disclosure, Masa's team acknowledged two security incidents: one on September 20 and a second on October 17, 2024. The team stated both incidents affected MASA tokens deployed on the Base blockchain only, claimed no material impact to business continuity, and pledged to credit affected users with replacement tokens under a new contract. The team had not voluntarily disclosed the September 20 incident to the public prior to ZachXBT's intervention. Crypto Briefing reported that Masa had not responded to ZachXBT's allegations at the time of their initial coverage. The failure to proactively disclose a six-figure security breach is the primary reason AVOID.NET flags this entity.","heading":"ZachXBT Hack Concealment Allegation","sources":[],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"The MASA token was sold in a public community sale on CoinList on March 7, 2024 at $0.079 per token. The sale was six times oversubscribed, closed in 17 minutes, and raised $8.75 million. The Token Generation Event (TGE) occurred on April 11, 2024, at which point the token reached its all-time high of approximately $0.4697, representing approximately a 5x return from IEO price. Since that date, the token experienced a sustained collapse. By October 17, 2025, MASA had fallen to its then all-time low of $0.004369. By April 30, 2026, CoinCodex recorded a new all-time low of approximately $0.00001305. As of mid-May 2026, the token trades near $0.00002, representing a decline of approximately 99.9% from its ATH. Current market capitalization stands at roughly $23,600 USD. The token's collapse from ATH occurred amid concurrent negative developments including the concealed exploit and a general AI/crypto sector rotation. Tokens purchased at IEO price ($0.079) have lost approximately 99.97% of their value.","heading":"Token Performance and Price Collapse","sources":[],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"The MASA token has a maximum supply of approximately 1.57-1.58 billion tokens. According to DropsTab and CryptoRank data, the distribution is heavily weighted toward insiders and private investors: Private Sale 26.56%, Team and Shareholders 22.5-25.6%, Treasury 18-19.6%, and Community Airdrop 10-12.8%, with the CoinList public sale representing only approximately 4% of total supply (63.5 million tokens at $0.079). The team and private sale combined control over 49% of total supply. Vesting for the CoinList public sale was 25% at TGE with 6-month linear vesting thereafter, while team tokens follow longer-term schedules with initial unlock percentages disclosed at 5.5% per category at time of research. The high concentration of supply among insiders relative to public participants, combined with the token's near-total collapse following TGE, has drawn community concern, though no formal regulatory action related to token distribution has been publicly documented.","heading":"Tokenomics and Insider Allocation Concerns","sources":[],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"Masa launched Bittensor Subnet 42 in August 2024, positioning itself as a real-time data supplier for AI agents. Subnet 59, described as an AI agent colosseum, followed in December 2024. The project claimed dual-token staking rewards in both $MASA and $TAO (Bittensor's native token), and positioned itself as the only live token for any Bittensor subnet at the time. Data sources reportedly scraped or aggregated include X (Twitter), Discord, Telegram, YouTube, TikTok, podcasts, and gated web content. The aggregation of social media data raises potential compliance concerns with platform terms of service and data protection regulations, particularly given that global privacy authorities issued guidance in October 2024 addressing mass scraping of personal information to support AI systems. Masa's GitHub repository (masa-finance/twitter-scraper) is publicly documented as a Twitter/X data scraping package, potentially in tension with X's API terms.","heading":"Bittensor Integration and AI Data Network Claims","sources":[],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"Masa has raised approximately $17-18 million across pre-seed, seed, and strategic rounds. Disclosed investors include Digital Currency Group (DCG), Animoca Brands, Anagram, GoldenTree Asset Management, FBG Capital, and GSR. The project was incubated through the Binance MVB (Most Valuable Builder) Accelerator and the Hashkey AI Accelerator. DCG led a strategic funding round to expand Masa's real-time data network and fund the Bittensor AI Agent Arena. Despite high-profile backer involvement, none of these investors have made public statements defending the project following the exploit concealment allegations or the token's near-total collapse. The presence of credible institutional names in the cap table does not insulate the project from the operational and transparency concerns documented herein.","heading":"Funding, Backers, and Accelerator Affiliations","sources":[],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"In September 2025, Masa announced a rebrand to 'Gopher' and disclosed a planned 1:1 token swap from $MASA to $GOAI. The new Gopher identity positions the project as a Cosmos SDK Layer-1 blockchain for AI-ready data. CryptoRank lists the project as formerly shut down at one point, though as of mid-2026 the Gopher website (gopher-ai.com) remains active and the founder Brendan Playford posted on X about token migration details in May 2026. A second planned public ICO phase was reportedly cancelled. The rebrand introduces multiple risks for existing MASA holders: uncertainty over the swap timeline, token contract migration complexity, potential for exchange delisting of MASA before swap completion, and the possibility the GOAI launch creates a new speculative cycle disconnected from the original project's deliverables. Community and independent tracker sites disagree on whether the project is active or discontinued.","heading":"Rebrand and Project Continuity Risk","sources":[],"severity":"medium"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2021","event":"Masa Finance founded by Brendan Playford; initial focus on decentralized credit and identity protocol","source":"","source_url":"https://techcrunch.com/2022/05/04/masa-finance-gets-3-5m-pre-seed-to-build-its-decentralized-credit-protocol/","date_original":"2021-01-01"},{"date":"2022-05-04","event":"Masa Finance raises $3.5M pre-seed round to build decentralized credit protocol, reported by TechCrunch","source":"","source_url":"https://techcrunch.com/2022/05/04/masa-finance-gets-3-5m-pre-seed-to-build-its-decentralized-credit-protocol/"},{"date":"2023-01-17","event":"Masa launches mainnet of first soulbound identity protocol on Ethereum; introduces .soul names and web3 credit score SBTs","source":"","source_url":"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230117005339/en/Masa-Launches-Mainnet-of-First-Soulbound-Identity-Protocol-in-Web3"},{"date":"2024-03-07","event":"MASA token public sale on CoinList at $0.079; raises $8.75M in 17 minutes, six times oversubscribed","source":"","source_url":"https://cryptoslate.com/press-releases/coinlist-to-host-the-masa-token-public-sale-as-it-unleashes-the-worlds-personal-data-network/"},{"date":"2024-03-28","event":"Masa announces LayerZero integration for cross-chain MASA token transfers via OFT standard","source":"","source_url":"https://cryptoslate.com/press-releases/masa-network-integrates-with-layerzero-to-power-its-cross-chain-ai-data-network/"},{"date":"2024-04-11","event":"MASA token TGE and mainnet launch; token reaches all-time high of approximately $0.4697; listed on Bybit, KuCoin, Gate, HTX, and PancakeSwap","source":"","source_url":"https://decrypt.co/225843/masa-announces-masa-token-listing-on-leading-exchanges-as-it-launches-its-ai-data-network-mainnet"},{"date":"2024-08","event":"Masa launches Bittensor Subnet 42 for real-time AI data aggregation","source":"","source_url":"https://cryptobriefing.com/masa-launches-llm-powered-ai-data-subnet-on-bittensor-bringing-hundreds-of-developers-into-the-ecosystem/","date_original":"2024-08-01"},{"date":"2024-09-20","event":"First security exploit occurs on MASA token contract on Base blockchain; six-figure losses incurred; incident not publicly disclosed by Masa team","source":"","source_url":"https://www.chaincatcher.com/en/article/2147928"},{"date":"2024-10-17","event":"Second security exploit occurs on MASA Base blockchain contract; ZachXBT publicly confronts Masa team, alleging the September exploit was concealed and framed as an 'upgrade'","source":"","source_url":"https://cryptobriefing.com/newsbriefs/?id=151238&title=decentralized-ai-network-masa-accused-of-hiding-six-figure-hack-as-upgrade"},{"date":"2024-10-18","event":"Masa team acknowledges both security incidents on September 20 and October 17; claims no material business impact and promises token credits to affected users","source":"","source_url":"https://www.bitget.com/news/detail/12560604287790"},{"date":"2024-10-17","event":"MASA token reaches then-all-time low of $0.004369","source":"","source_url":"https://coincodex.com/crypto/masa/"},{"date":"2024-12","event":"Masa launches Bittensor Subnet 59 (AI Agent Arena); secures additional strategic funding from DCG","source":"","source_url":"https://cryptoslate.com/press-releases/masa-secures-new-funding-from-dcg-to-expand-real-time-data-network-and-launch-ai-agent-arena-on-bittensor/","date_original":"2024-12-01"},{"date":"2025-09","event":"Masa rebrands to Gopher; announces planned 1:1 token swap from $MASA to $GOAI; announces transition to Cosmos SDK Layer-1 blockchain","source":"","source_url":"https://cryptorank.io/price/masa","date_original":"2025-09-01"},{"date":"2026-04-30","event":"MASA token hits new all-time low of approximately $0.00001305","source":"","source_url":"https://coincodex.com/crypto/masa/"},{"date":"2026-05","event":"Founder Brendan Playford posts on X regarding MASA-to-GOAI migration details and tokenomics; project remains in transition","source":"","source_url":"https://x.com/BrendanPlayford/status/1990843210885902808","date_original":"2026-05-01"}],"sources_used":[],"source_tags":["zachxbt"],"addresses":[],"reviewed":false,"reviewed_by":null,"model_used":"claude-sonnet","created_at":"2026-05-04T16:04:57.706812+00:00","updated_at":"2026-08-29T01:36:00.672+00:00"}}