{"investigation":{"slug":"walletconnect","entity_name":"WalletConnect","trust_score":72,"severity_base":null,"score_modifier":0,"confidence":0.55,"status":"published","content_type":"investigation","summary":"WalletConnect is an open-source protocol connecting crypto wallets to decentralized applications. In September 2024 its operator, WalletConnect Inc., rebranded as Reown, and a separate WalletConnect Foundation took over stewardship of the WalletConnect Network and its WCT token. No regulatory action or compromise of the core protocol was found in this review; the main documented harms are third-party impersonation (a fake Google Play app and phishing sites) that exploited the brand.","sections":[{"content":"WalletConnect Inc. was renamed Reown in September 2024. The WalletConnect Foundation, announced on 2024-09-16 and directed by Pedro Gomes, supports the growth, security and decentralization of the WalletConnect Network. The Foundation states the WalletConnect Network operates independently from Reown, and that developer products such as AppKit and WalletKit are offered through Reown. Press coverage describes Jess Houlgrave as CEO of Reown (previously COO of WalletConnect from September 2023). The requester's context describes her as CEO of WalletConnect; per the sources found, the CEO title applies to Reown, the commercial developer platform, rather than the Foundation. This was not confirmed against the Breakpoint agenda itself, which could not be re-verified here. Some secondary sources conflict on how the Foundation relates to Reown, so readers should check which legal entity a given product or statement belongs to.","heading":"Organization and Structure","sources":[{"url":"https://walletconnect.com/blog/introducing-the-walletconnect-foundation","name":"Introducing the WalletConnect Foundation (WalletConnect blog)","type":"official","credibility":2},{"url":"https://crypto.news/walletconnect-rebrands-to-reown-introduces-wct-utility-token/","name":"WalletConnect rebrands to Reown, introduces WCT utility token (crypto.news)","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"low"},{"content":"WCT, the network's governance and utility token, was announced in September 2024 with a total supply of 1 billion. The Block reported that 185 million WCT (18.5%) were earmarked for airdrops across multiple seasons, and that tokens were initially non-transferable. A later Solana-focused announcement described a 5 million WCT claim for Solana users with Jupiter, Phantom, Backpack and Solflare assisting; its date and whether the claim has since opened were not confirmed. Search results gave 27% of supply as allocated to the Foundation, from a secondary source. Token price and market data were not assessed.","heading":"WCT Token and Airdrops","sources":[{"url":"https://theblock.co/post/316751/walletconnect-token-launch-airdrop","name":"WalletConnect set to airdrop 185 million WCT (The Block)","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://reown.com/blog/reown-formerly-walletconnect-expands-to-solana-following-usdwct-token-announcement","name":"Reown expands to Solana following WCT token announcement","type":"official","credibility":2},{"url":"https://solanacompass.com/projects/reown","name":"Solana Compass: Reown","type":"research","credibility":3}],"severity":"low"},{"content":"Check Point Research reported in September 2024 a fake app posing as WalletConnect on Google Play that drained more than $70,000 from at least 150 addresses over about five months; the app was reported as installed over 10,000 times, though not every installer lost funds. The report describes a fake app imitating the protocol, not a breach of WalletConnect itself. Separately, WalletConnect warned users of phishing emails impersonating its addresses, which Blockaid reportedly linked to a vulnerability at third-party email provider Mailer Lite (year not confirmed here). Threat-intelligence aggregators list multiple WalletConnect-lookalike drainer domains; these are low-credibility, unverified listings and indicate brand abuse by third parties, not wrongdoing by WalletConnect.","heading":"Brand Impersonation and Phishing","sources":[{"url":"https://blog.checkpoint.com/research/the-cryptocurrency-drainer-hiding-on-google-play/","name":"The Cryptocurrency Drainer Hiding on Google Play (Check Point Research)","type":"research","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/26/victims_lose_70k_to_play/","name":"Victims lose $70k to Play Store app (The Register)","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://phishdestroy.io/domain/walletconnect-network.web.app/","name":"PhishDestroy: walletconnect-network.web.app","type":"community_report","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"No court filings, regulatory actions or sanctions against WalletConnect, Reown or the Foundation were found in the searches run for this page. This reflects a limited search, not a clean-record guarantee. No incident involving compromise of the core relay or protocol was found.","heading":"Regulatory and Legal Record","sources":[{"url":"https://blog.checkpoint.com/research/the-cryptocurrency-drainer-hiding-on-google-play/","name":"Check Point Research (no protocol compromise described)","type":"research","credibility":2}],"severity":"low"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2023-09","event":"Jess Houlgrave appointed COO of WalletConnect (per secondary summaries).","source":"WalletConnect announcement (reported in search results)","source_url":"https://walletconnect.com/walletconnect-appoints-new-coo"},{"date":"2024-09","event":"WalletConnect Inc. rebrands to Reown and announces the WCT token.","source":"crypto.news","source_url":"https://crypto.news/walletconnect-rebrands-to-reown-introduces-wct-utility-token/"},{"date":"2024-09","event":"WalletConnect Foundation announced (blog dated September 16, 2024).","source":"WalletConnect blog","source_url":"https://walletconnect.com/blog/introducing-the-walletconnect-foundation"},{"date":"2024-09","event":"Check Point reports a fake WalletConnect Google Play app that drained over $70,000.","source":"Check Point Research","source_url":"https://blog.checkpoint.com/research/the-cryptocurrency-drainer-hiding-on-google-play/"}],"sources_used":[{"url":"https://walletconnect.com/blog/introducing-the-walletconnect-foundation","name":"Introducing the WalletConnect Foundation","type":"official","credibility":2},{"url":"https://crypto.news/walletconnect-rebrands-to-reown-introduces-wct-utility-token/","name":"WalletConnect rebrands to Reown (crypto.news)","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://theblock.co/post/316751/walletconnect-token-launch-airdrop","name":"WalletConnect airdrop (The Block)","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://reown.com/blog/reown-formerly-walletconnect-expands-to-solana-following-usdwct-token-announcement","name":"Reown Solana expansion","type":"official","credibility":2},{"url":"https://solanacompass.com/projects/reown","name":"Solana Compass: Reown","type":"research","credibility":3},{"url":"https://blog.checkpoint.com/research/the-cryptocurrency-drainer-hiding-on-google-play/","name":"Check Point Research","type":"research","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/26/victims_lose_70k_to_play/","name":"The Register","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://phishdestroy.io/domain/walletconnect-network.web.app/","name":"PhishDestroy","type":"community_report","credibility":3},{"url":"https://walletconnect.com/walletconnect-appoints-new-coo","name":"WalletConnect appoints new COO","type":"official","credibility":2}],"source_tags":[],"addresses":[],"reviewed":false,"reviewed_by":null,"model_used":"claude-code-investigator","created_at":"2026-11-05T17:59:44.005942+00:00","updated_at":"2026-11-05T17:59:50.928+00:00"},"source_quality":{"total":9,"tier1":0,"tier2":1,"tier3":0,"unrated":8},"follower_count":null,"content_updated_at":"2026-11-05T17:59:44.401Z","last_fact_checked_at":null,"fact_check_next_allowed_at":null,"update_next_allowed_at":null}