{"investigation":{"slug":"mori-finance","entity_name":"Mori Finance","trust_score":22,"severity_base":null,"score_modifier":0,"confidence":0.52,"status":"published","content_type":"investigation","summary":"Mori Finance is an Ethereum-based DeFi protocol launched in mid-2023 that uses liquid staking derivatives (LSDs) as collateral to produce two derivative assets: ETHS (a low-volatility stable asset) and ETHC (a high-volatility leveraged ETH token). The project raised approximately 324 ETH across two public token sales, launched an alpha mainnet in August 2023, but appears to have gone effectively dormant by December 2023, with on-chain TVL reported at approximately $233 and no verifiable social or development activity since that date.","sections":[{"content":"Mori Finance describes itself as a native stable-asset DeFi protocol built on Ethereum. According to its published GitBook documentation, the protocol accepts liquid staking derivative (LSD) tokens—initially stETH from Lido Finance—as collateral and splits the underlying ETH price exposure into two synthetic assets: ETHS (ETH Stable), a low-volatility stable asset, and ETHC (ETH Coin), a high-volatility leveraged long position on ETH. The MORI token is the protocol's governance and revenue-sharing token; users who ve-lock MORI receive a non-transferable escrowed governance token called xMORI, which entitles them to a portion of mint and redeem fee revenue. According to the official Medium publication and GitBook, the protocol planned future integrations with LayerZero for cross-chain deployment and yield-optimization partnerships, though no evidence of these being executed has been found.","heading":"Protocol Description","sources":[{"url":"https://mori-finance.gitbook.io/mori-finance/mori-protocol","name":"MORI PROTOCOL - MORI FINANCE - GitBook","type":"official","credibility":2},{"url":"https://medium.com/@morifinanceofficial/the-dawn-of-a-new-defi-era-discover-mori-finance-tokenomics-token-offer-13d5066228e3","name":"The Dawn of a New DeFi Era: Discover Mori Finance Tokenomics & Token Offer — Medium","type":"official","credibility":2}],"severity":"low"},{"content":"Mori Finance conducted two public token offering events in 2023 in lieu of a venture capital presale or team allocation, according to the project's own Medium publication. The first sale on July 20, 2023 sold out in under two minutes, raising approximately 150 ETH. The second sale on August 10, 2023 raised 174 ETH within approximately 35 seconds. The combined total raised across both public sales was approximately 324 ETH. While the project publicly stated it had no VC or team allocations, the published tokenomics breakdown indicates an allocation structure that includes core team (25% with a 2.78% initial unlock), treasury (10% with 4.17% initial unlock), marketing (7% with 10% initial unlock), public sale (6%), initial liquidity provision (1.2%), and airdrop (0.8%). The discrepancy between the stated 'no team allocation' and the presence of a 25% core team category in the tokenomics should be noted by prospective users.","heading":"Token Sales and Fundraising","sources":[{"url":"https://medium.com/@morifinanceofficial/the-dawn-of-a-new-defi-era-discover-mori-finance-tokenomics-token-offer-13d5066228e3","name":"The Dawn of a New DeFi Era: Discover Mori Finance Tokenomics & Token Offer — Medium","type":"official","credibility":2},{"url":"https://holder.io/coins/mori/","name":"MORI Coin: what is Mori Finance? Crypto token analysis and Overview — Holder.io","type":"research","credibility":2}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"Mori Finance's official X (formerly Twitter) account (@Mori_Finance) joined the platform in June 2023 and posted its last verifiable update around December 18, 2023, according to publicly available search records. No social media, blog, or development activity attributable to the protocol has been found after that date. As of September 2026, DeFiLlama reports the Mori Protocol's total value locked (TVL) at approximately $233, which represents a near-complete collapse from any meaningful level of protocol usage. The MORI token contract on Ethereum (0x00c8555542158fff0feb892c8e000a8d1831762c) shows no tradeable price, no recorded 24-hour trading volume, and is indexed across only two liquidity pools with unavailable liquidity data, according to DexPaprika. The token is ranked approximately #5890 by market capitalization on available trackers. These on-chain and off-chain signals are consistent with a project that has ceased active development and community engagement, though no formal announcement of abandonment or dissolution has been found.","heading":"Project Activity and Current Status","sources":[{"url":"https://x.com/mori_finance","name":"Mori Finance (@Mori_Finance) on X","type":"social_media","credibility":3},{"url":"https://defillama.com/protocol/mori-protocol","name":"Mori Protocol TVL Stats & Charts — DeFiLlama","type":"on_chain","credibility":2},{"url":"https://dexpaprika.com/ethereum/token/0x00c8555542158Fff0FEb892c8e000a8D1831762C","name":"MORI Token on-chain data — DexPaprika","type":"on_chain","credibility":2},{"url":"https://holder.io/coins/mori/","name":"MORI Coin: what is Mori Finance? — Holder.io","type":"research","credibility":2}],"severity":"high"},{"content":"No publicly identified founders, developers, or core team members have been found for Mori Finance through available sources. The official GitBook documentation does not name any individuals. The Medium blog and X account were operated under the handle 'Mori Finance' without attributing authorship to identifiable persons. The degree of anonymity is notable given that the project raised approximately 324 ETH from the public through two token sales. An anonymous team is not inherently indicative of fraud; however, combined with the project's apparent dormancy and lack of any follow-through communication, the anonymity raises the accountability risk for token holders.","heading":"Team Transparency and Anonymity","sources":[{"url":"https://mori-finance.gitbook.io/mori-finance/mori-protocol","name":"MORI PROTOCOL - MORI FINANCE - GitBook","type":"official","credibility":2},{"url":"https://medium.com/@morifinanceofficial","name":"Mori Finance — Medium","type":"official","credibility":2}],"severity":"high"},{"content":"The project's Medium publication stated that Mori Finance had partnered with PeckShield, a blockchain security firm, for a comprehensive security audit. However, no publicly available PeckShield audit report for Mori Finance has been found through open-source searches. A dedicated search for the audit returned no results from PeckShield's published report repository or other public databases. The claim of a PeckShield audit has not been independently verified, and no audit report URL or report hash was located. Until a verifiable audit report is available, the security posture of the protocol's smart contracts cannot be assessed.","heading":"Security Audits","sources":[{"url":"https://medium.com/@morifinanceofficial/the-dawn-of-a-new-defi-era-discover-mori-finance-tokenomics-token-offer-13d5066228e3","name":"The Dawn of a New DeFi Era: Discover Mori Finance Tokenomics & Token Offer — Medium","type":"official","credibility":2}],"severity":"high"},{"content":"There is a separate, unrelated cryptocurrency called MORI COIN, launched on the Solana blockchain in mid-2025 and associated with an online persona known as 'Professor Moriarty.' MORI COIN (Solana contract: 8ZHE4ow1a2jjxuoMfyExuNamQNALv5ekZhsBn5nMDf5e) is distinct from Mori Finance (Ethereum contract: 0x00c8555542158fff0feb892c8e000a8d1831762c) and shares no affiliation with the 2023 Ethereum DeFi protocol. MORI COIN reached an all-time high of approximately $0.20 in July 2025 and has since declined approximately 97%. Searches for 'Mori Finance' or 'MORI token' frequently surface results about MORI COIN; readers should be careful to distinguish between the two projects. Allegations circulating on social media regarding MORI COIN's connection to darknet marketplaces are attributed to community and social media discussion and have not been substantiated by a Tier 1 or Tier 2 investigative source.","heading":"Name Confusion Risk","sources":[{"url":"https://cryptopotato.com/mori-coin-mori-explodes-by-300-in-a-day-the-new-crypto-sensation-or-a-downright-scam/","name":"MORI COIN (MORI) Explodes by 300% in a Day: The New Crypto Sensation or a Downright Scam? — CryptoPotato","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/mori-coin","name":"MORI COIN Price: MORI/USD Live Price Chart — CoinGecko","type":"research","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/eth-coin-mori-finance","name":"ETH Coin Price: ETHC/USD Live Price Chart — CoinGecko","type":"research","credibility":2}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"No regulatory actions, SEC filings, CFTC complaints, DOJ indictments, or court filings relating to Mori Finance or its operators have been found. The California DFPI crypto scam tracker does not list Mori Finance as of available records. The absence of a regulatory record is noted, though it does not constitute a positive finding given the project's limited scale and apparent dormancy.","heading":"Regulatory and Legal Record","sources":[{"url":"https://dfpi.ca.gov/consumers/crypto/crypto-scam-tracker/","name":"Crypto Scam Tracker — DFPI CA.gov","type":"regulatory","credibility":1}],"severity":"low"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2023-06-20","event":"Mori Finance Goerli testnet launched; approximately 500 transactions recorded in first 24 hours.","source":"Mori Finance Medium / GitBook","source_url":"https://mori-finance.gitbook.io/mori-finance/mori-protocol"},{"date":"2023-07-20","event":"First public MORI token offering event: sold out in under two minutes, raising 150 ETH.","source":"Mori Finance Medium","source_url":"https://medium.com/@morifinanceofficial/the-dawn-of-a-new-defi-era-discover-mori-finance-tokenomics-token-offer-13d5066228e3"},{"date":"2023-08-10","event":"Second public MORI token offering: raised 174 ETH within approximately 35 seconds.","source":"Mori Finance Medium","source_url":"https://medium.com/@morifinanceofficial/the-dawn-of-a-new-defi-era-discover-mori-finance-tokenomics-token-offer-13d5066228e3"},{"date":"2023-08-13","event":"Mori Finance alpha mainnet launched on Ethereum.","source":"Mori Finance X / Medium","source_url":"https://x.com/mori_finance"},{"date":"2023-12-18","event":"Last verifiable post from the official @Mori_Finance X account ('Xmas came early!'). No further public communications found after this date.","source":"Mori Finance X account (publicly archived search records)","source_url":"https://x.com/mori_finance"},{"date":"2024-10-01","event":"MORI token contract first indexed by DexPaprika; shows no price or liquidity data at that time.","source":"DexPaprika on-chain data","source_url":"https://dexpaprika.com/ethereum/token/0x00c8555542158Fff0FEb892c8e000a8D1831762C"},{"date":"2026-09-23","event":"DeFiLlama reports Mori Protocol TVL at approximately $233. MORI token shows no tradeable price on available exchanges. Project appears effectively dormant.","source":"DeFiLlama protocol page","source_url":"https://defillama.com/protocol/mori-protocol"}],"sources_used":[{"url":"https://mori-finance.gitbook.io/mori-finance/mori-protocol","name":"MORI PROTOCOL - MORI FINANCE - GitBook","type":"official","archive_url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20260923134721/https://mori-finance.gitbook.io/mori-finance/mori-protocol","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2026-09-23T13:47:21+00:00"},{"url":"https://medium.com/@morifinanceofficial/the-dawn-of-a-new-defi-era-discover-mori-finance-tokenomics-token-offer-13d5066228e3","name":"The Dawn of a New DeFi Era: Discover Mori Finance Tokenomics & Token Offer — Medium","type":"official","archive_url":null,"credibility":2,"archive_error":"error:no-request","archive_status":"unarchivable","archive_timestamp":null},{"url":"https://medium.com/@morifinanceofficial","name":"Mori Finance — Medium (author page)","type":"official","archive_url":null,"credibility":2,"archive_error":"error:no-request","archive_status":"unarchivable","archive_timestamp":null},{"url":"https://x.com/mori_finance","name":"Mori Finance (@Mori_Finance) on X","type":"social_media","archive_url":null,"credibility":3,"archive_timestamp":null},{"url":"https://defillama.com/protocol/mori-protocol","name":"Mori Protocol TVL Stats & Charts — DeFiLlama","type":"on_chain","archive_url":null,"credibility":2,"archive_error":"error:no-request","archive_status":"unarchivable","archive_timestamp":null},{"url":"https://dexpaprika.com/ethereum/token/0x00c8555542158Fff0FEb892c8e000a8D1831762C","name":"MORI Token on-chain data — DexPaprika","type":"on_chain","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260923160234/https://dexpaprika.com/ethereum/token/0x00c8555542158Fff0FEb892c8e000a8D1831762C","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2026-09-23T16:02:34+00:00"},{"url":"https://holder.io/coins/mori/","name":"MORI Coin: what is Mori Finance? — Holder.io","type":"research","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260512125107/https://holder.io/coins/mori/","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2026-05-12T12:51:07+00:00"},{"url":"https://tokeninsight.com/en/coins/mori-finance/overview","name":"Mori Finance MORI Live Price, Charts, Ratings & News — TokenInsight","type":"research","archive_url":null,"credibility":2,"archive_error":"error:no-request","archive_status":"unarchivable","archive_timestamp":null},{"url":"https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/eth-coin-mori-finance","name":"ETH Coin Price: ETHC/USD Live Price Chart — CoinGecko","type":"research","archive_url":null,"credibility":2,"archive_error":"error:no-request","archive_status":"unarchivable","archive_timestamp":null},{"url":"https://cryptopotato.com/mori-coin-mori-explodes-by-300-in-a-day-the-new-crypto-sensation-or-a-downright-scam/","name":"MORI COIN (MORI) Explodes by 300% in a Day: The New Crypto Sensation or a Downright Scam? — CryptoPotato","type":"news_article","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260614125115/https://cryptopotato.com/mori-coin-mori-explodes-by-300-in-a-day-the-new-crypto-sensation-or-a-downright-scam/","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2026-06-14T12:51:15+00:00"},{"url":"https://dfpi.ca.gov/consumers/crypto/crypto-scam-tracker/","name":"Crypto Scam Tracker — DFPI CA.gov","type":"regulatory","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260918195900/https://dfpi.ca.gov/consumers/crypto/crypto-scam-tracker/","credibility":1,"archive_timestamp":"2026-09-18T19:59:00+00:00"},{"url":"https://medium.com/@morifinanceofficial/mori-vs-pendle-lybra-rai-evaluating-ethereums-next-standout-protocol-907c1952cfa9","name":"Mori vs. Pendle & Lybra & RAI: Evaluating Ethereum's Next Standout Protocol — Medium","type":"official","archive_url":null,"credibility":2,"archive_error":"error:no-request","archive_status":"unarchivable","archive_timestamp":null}],"source_tags":[],"addresses":[],"reviewed":false,"reviewed_by":null,"model_used":"claude-sonnet-4-6","created_at":"2026-09-23T12:12:24.170626+00:00","updated_at":"2026-09-23T18:33:26.08624+00:00"}}