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{"actor":"system:backfill","investigation_id":"df79decd-dab0-46e7-a234-b7db05d89ce2","kind":"publish","page_slug":"sushiswap","published_at":"2026-05-27T20:30:13.210Z","sequence_num":1,"snapshot":{"content_type":"investigation","entity_name":"SushiSwap","sections":[{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.gemini.com/cryptopedia/sushiswap-uniswap-vampire-attack","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://defillama.com/protocol/sushiswap","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://thedefiant.io/education/defi/what-is-sushiswap","type":"other","url":""}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2020/09/11/i-fked-up-sushiswap-creator-chef-nomi-returns-14m-dev-fund","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://decrypt.co/40976/founder-of-sushiswap-defi-protocol-cashes-out","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://decrypt.co/41547/sushiswap-chef-nomi-gives-back-14-million-ethereum","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/chef-nomi-has-returned-all-funds-back-to-the-sushiswap-community","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://modernconsensus.com/adblock/sushiswap-founder-returns-millions-apologizes-for-exit-scam/","type":"other","url":""}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"https://cryptoticker.io/en/sushiswap-founder-gives-the-project-control-to-ftx-ceo-sam-bankman-fried/","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://news.bitcoin.com/defis-raw-deal-sushiswap-creator-transfers-multi-sig-control-to-ftx-ceo/","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/ftx-ceo-sushiswap-probably-wasnt-a-long-planned-heist","type":"other","url":""}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"https://dailycoin.com/sushiswap-sushi-ceo-jared-grey-denies-scam-and-bestiality-allegations-in-detailed-response/","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://blockworks.co/news/sushiswap-head-chef-hit-by-controversy-in-first-week","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://thedefiant.io/news/defi/sushiswap-grey-rejects-accusations","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2022/10/11/sushiswap-new-ceo-accused-of-scamming-and-other-crimes/","type":"other","url":""}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"https://decrypt.co/124133/sushiswap-dao-subpoena-sec-legal-defense-fund","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://blockworks.co/news/sushiswap-served-by-sec","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://ambcrypto.com/breaking-sushiswap-and-its-ceo-served-with-subpoena-by-sec/","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.unlock-bc.com/99072/sushiswap-faces-sec-subpoena-considers-legal-defense-fund-for-dao/","type":"other","url":""}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.theblock.co/post/225473/sushiswap-hack","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://hacken.io/discover/sushi-hack-explained/","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/sushiswap-approval-bug-leads-to-3-3-million-exploit","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://decrypt.co/125799/sushiswap-smart-contract-bug-exploited-in-3-3-million-theft","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.web3isgoinggreat.com/?id=0xsifu-loses-more-than-2-7-million-to-sushiswap-hack","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.theblock.co/post/225839/sushiswap-hack-claims","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://blockworks.com/news/sushiswap-funds-recovered-hackers-have-more","type":"other","url":""}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/sushiswap-chief-says-it-only-has-1-5-years-of-treasury-runway-left","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/03/31/sushi-swap-ceo-says-he-no-longer-feels-inspired-amid-us-regulators-crypto-crackdown","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://cryptoslate.com/sushiswap-head-chef-discloses-5-2m-budget-for-dao-operation-in-2023/","type":"other","url":""}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"https://bitcoinist.com/sushiswap-team-accused-of-plotting-to-kill-dao/","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://decrypt.co/225431/sushiswap-community-cries-foul-over-vote","type":"other","url":""},{"credibility":3,"name":"https://www.theblock.co/post/286661/sushiswap-governance-proposal-suggests-shifting-dao-treasury-assets-to-new-sushi-labs-vault","type":"other","url":""},{"cr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is a decentralized exchange (DEX) and DeFi protocol launched in August 2020 as a fork of Uniswap, offering an automated market maker (AMM), governance token (SUSHI), and multi-chain liquidity pools. The protocol has endured a series of serious controversies spanning its entire history: a founding exit-scam attempt by anonymous creator Chef Nomi, early operational control handed to convicted fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried, an SEC subpoena issued to the protocol and its CEO in 2023, a $3.3 million smart contract exploit the same year, allegations that North Korean IT workers were embedded in its developer team, disputed DAO treasury centralization in 2024, and a governance process in late 2025 where a single wallet controlled 99.9% of a vote. TVL has declined approximately 98.7% from its 2022 peak of over $8 billion to roughly $100 million as of late 2025.","timeline":[{"date":"2020-08-01","event":"SushiSwap launched by anonymous developer 'Chef Nomi' as a fork of Uniswap, introducing SUSHI governance token and yield farming incentives.","source":""},{"date":"2020-09-05","event":"Chef Nomi withdraws approximately $13–14 million from the developer fund wallet, converting SUSHI and LP tokens to ETH; SUSHI price collapses ~90%. Community labels it a rug pull or exit scam.","source":""},{"date":"2020-09-06","event":"Chef Nomi transfers multi-sig control of SushiSwap to FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried to restore community confidence.","source":""},{"date":"2020-09-11","event":"Chef Nomi returns approximately 38,000 ETH ($14 million) to the developer fund, publicly apologizes, and withdraws from governance.","source":""},{"date":"2020-09-11","event":"Sam Bankman-Fried oversees SushiSwap's migration from Uniswap and transfers control to a broad multi-sig arrangement.","source":""},{"date":"2021-03-01","event":"SUSHI reaches all-time high of approximately $23.38. SushiSwap TVL exceeds $5 billion.","source":""},{"date":"2022-01-01","event":"SushiSwap TVL peaks at over $8 billion before declining sharply during the broader crypto market downturn.","source":""},{"date":"2022-10-11","event":"Jared Grey appointed Head Chef. Within days, Twitter user YannickCrypto publishes allegations of past scams and other misconduct; Grey denies all charges.","source":""},{"date":"2022-12-01","event":"Grey discloses SushiSwap treasury has less than 18 months of runway remaining, with alleged $30 million loss attributed to prior administration mismanagement.","source":""},{"date":"2023-03-21","event":"SEC serves SushiSwap and Jared Grey with a subpoena. SushiSwap proposes $3 million legal defense fund from the DAO treasury.","source":""},{"date":"2023-04-09","event":"RouterProcessor2 smart contract exploit drains approximately $3.3 million across 14 chains. Largest victim is wallet 0xSifu (Michael Patryn, QuadrigaCX co-founder). White hats recover over 1,000 ETH.","source":""},{"date":"2023-04-12","event":"SushiSwap announces reimbursement plan via Merkle Claim contract for exploit victims.","source":""},{"date":"2024-04-01","event":"SushiSwap proposes transitioning to 'Labs model,' shifting approximately $42.5 million in treasury assets from DAO control to new Sushi Labs entity.","source":""},{"date":"2024-04-10","event":"Sushi Labs treasury proposal passes with approximately 62% of the vote amid allegations by community members that the team used protocol wallets and borrowed funds to boost voting power.","source":""},{"date":"2024-06-11","event":"Sushi Labs formally established as the autonomous administrative entity governing SushiSwap operations.","source":""},{"date":"2025-12-01","event":"Jared Grey steps down as Head Chef and transitions to advisory role. Synthesis invests $3.3 million; Alex McCurry becomes Managing Director.","source":""},{"date":"2025-12-14","event":"Governance vote increases SUSHI annual emission rate from 1.5% to up to 5%; on-chain analysis shows a single wallet controlled approximately 99.9% of voting power.","source":""},{"date":"2026-03-12","event":"A trader routes $50.4 million USDT through CoW Protocol into a SushiSwap pool with only $73,000 liquidity, losing approximately $50 million to slippage and MEV exploitation.","source":""}]},"v":1}