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{"actor":"system:backfill","investigation_id":"6a3dde67-656a-44be-92c7-5379714b225a","kind":"publish","page_slug":"axiom-dex","published_at":"2026-06-15T17:09:49.610Z","sequence_num":1,"snapshot":{"content_type":"investigation","entity_name":"Axiom DEX","sections":[{"content":"Axiom Exchange is a web-based crypto trading platform built on the Solana blockchain, founded in 2024 by Henry Zhang (known as 'Mist') and Preston Ellis (known as 'Cal'), both recent graduates of UC San Diego and UC Berkeley respectively. Zhang previously worked at TikTok on generative AI for advertising; Ellis interned at DoorDash. The platform participated in Y Combinator's Winter 2025 batch and raised $500,000 in seed funding. Axiom allows users to swap Solana-based tokens, open perpetual futures positions via Hyperliquid, and access on-chain and social data analytics. The platform executes orders in under 0.4 seconds using co-located Solana nodes. Axiom reached $100 million in cumulative revenue within 129 days of its early-access launch in late January 2025, $200 million by August 2025, and $300 million within 263 days of launch, with total revenue exceeding $390 million as of February 2026.","heading":"Platform Overview","severity":"low","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"ZachXBT on X — Axiom background details","type":"social_media","url":"https://x.com/zachxbt/status/2027016082536714503"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Axiom exchange hits $100 million in revenue just four months after launch — The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/355676/axiom-exchange-hits-100-million-in-revenue-just-four-months-after-launch"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Axiom Exchange Becomes the Fastest Crypto Platform to Reach $300 Million in Revenue — Solana Floor","type":"news_article","url":"https://solanafloor.com/news/axiom-exchange-becomes-the-fastest-crypto-platform-to-reach-300-million-in-revenue"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Y Combinator — Axiom company profile","type":"official","url":"https://ycombinator.com/companies/axiom"}]},{"content":"On February 26, 2026, blockchain investigator ZachXBT published an investigation concluding that Broox Bauer (@WheresBroox), a senior business development employee at Axiom based in New York, systematically exploited internal dashboard tools with inadequate access controls to retrieve private user wallet data and use that information to conduct insider trading. ZachXBT stated the scheme began in early 2025 and continued for over 10 months. According to the investigation, Bauer accessed data including complete user wallet address lists, tracked wallets, transaction histories with timestamps, wallet nicknames, and linked accounts — all through Axiom's internal customer support tools. Bauer is alleged to have initially studied 10 to 20 wallets and gradually expanded the scope of his activity to avoid detection. He and associates compiled targeted wallet addresses into Google Sheets, focusing on prominent crypto key opinion leaders (KOLs) who accumulated memecoins before publicly promoting them. Screenshots from April and August 2025 shared by Bauer in private communications showed private wallet information tied to specific traders, including a trader identified as 'Jerry' and another as 'Monix.' In a recorded call from February 2026, Bauer detailed a plan using a colleague's internal access to generate $200,000 in profits. ZachXBT identified three other individuals involved: Ryan (Ryucio), a business development employee who retrieved user information for associates and helped a contact named Mystery join Axiom as a moderator; Gowno (identified as Seb), a recently hired moderator; and Mystery, a moderator recruited through Ryan. ZachXBT provided on-chain wallet addresses associated with Bauer and documented associated exchange deposit addresses. The investigation concluded Axiom 'had almost no monitoring mechanisms or access control' from its inception.","heading":"Insider Trading and Data Abuse Scandal","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"ZachXBT alleges Axiom employee conducted insider trading — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/02/26/zachxbt-alleges-axiom-employee-conducted-insider-trading"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Solana trading platform employees accused of insider trading using sensitive customer data — DL News","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.dlnews.com/articles/defi/axiom-employees-accused-of-insider-trading-using-sensitive-customer-data/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"ZachXBT's In-Depth Investigation: A Complete Record of the Axiom Insider Trading Scandal — PANews","type":"research","url":"https://www.panewslab.com/en/articles/019c9ce8-7c27-771b-9de0-f5eecdc9b650"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Breaking: ZachXBT accuses Axiom employees of insider trading — crypto.news","type":"news_article","url":"https://crypto.news/zachxbt-axiom-employees-insider-trading-report-2026/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Axiom Employees Exposed in Massive Insider Trading Scandal — CCN","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.ccn.com/analysis/crypto/axiom-employees-exposed-insider-trading-scandal-zachxbt/"}]},{"content":"ZachXBT's investigation placed significant emphasis on Axiom's systemic failure to implement access controls and monitoring for its internal tools. According to the investigation, Axiom's internal customer support dashboard allowed employees to search any user by referral code, wallet address, or user ID — returning full wallet lists, tracked wallets, transaction histories, wallet nicknames, and linked accounts. ZachXBT concluded the platform had 'little to no monitoring or access controls' from launch. The investigation found no indication that Axiom's leadership was aware of the ongoing abuse prior to being contacted by ZachXBT for comment before publication, suggesting an absence of anomaly detection or access-log auditing. The investigation framed the vulnerability as a structural failure: a rapidly scaling company with access to sensitive financial data for millions of users had not implemented commensurate data governance or least-privilege access controls.","heading":"Insufficient Internal Access Controls","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"ZachXBT alleges Axiom employee conducted insider trading — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/02/26/zachxbt-alleges-axiom-employee-conducted-insider-trading"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Axiom Exchange Insider Trading Scandal: Is Your Trading Data Being Used Against You? — TradingView/99Bitcoins","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.tradingview.com/news/99Bitcoins:351a5884f094b:0-axiom-exchange-insider-trading-scandal-is-your-trading-data-being-used-against-you/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"ZachXBT's In-Depth Investigation: A Complete Record of the Axiom Insider Trading Scandal — PANews","type":"research","url":"https://www.panewslab.com/en/articles/019c9ce8-7c27-771b-9de0-f5eecdc9b650"}]},{"content":"Following ZachXBT's publication on February 26, 2026, Axiom's co-founders Mist and Cal issued a public statement saying they were 'shocked and disappointed' that someone on their team had 'abused internal customer support tools to look up user wallets.' Axiom stated it had removed access to the internal systems involved and committed to continuing an investigation with the goal of holding 'the offending parties responsible.' Axiom did not respond to questions from reporters about whether any implicated employees had engaged in trading on the platform. ZachXBT recommended that Axiom's founders 'thoroughly investigate this abuse of power and consider taking legal action against the employees involved, regardless of whether criminal charges are brought.' As of the date of reporting, no further public disclosures about disciplinary or legal outcomes had been confirmed.","heading":"Axiom's Response and Remediation","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"ZachXBT alleges Axiom employee conducted insider trading — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/02/26/zachxbt-alleges-axiom-employee-conducted-insider-trading"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Solana trading platform employees accused of insider trading using sensitive customer data — DL News","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.dlnews.com/articles/defi/axiom-employees-accused-of-insider-trading-using-sensitive-customer-data/"}]},{"content":"A secondary insider trading dimension emerged on February 27, 2026, when CoinDesk reported that multiple wallets appeared to have placed coordinated bets on the Polymarket prediction market contract titled 'Which crypto company will ZachXBT expose for insider trading?' in the hours before the Axiom investigation was published. The contract saw approximately $40 million in total trading volume. On-chain analytics firm Lookonchain identified at least 12 wallets that placed heavy bets on Axiom being named, with combined profits exceeding $1 million. The account 'predictorxyz' accumulated 477,415 shares at an average price of $0.14 and earned approximately $411,000 in profit. Another anonymous wallet purchased 109,450 shares at $0.33. An additional group of five wallets flagged by Polysights wagered approximately $50,000 and gained $266,000. ZachXBT acknowledged having contacted Axiom for comment prior to publication, noting that a leak was 'probably inevitable.' Polymarket's offshore operating model does not conduct identity checks, which the article noted makes attribution of the Polymarket bettors difficult.","heading":"Secondary Polymarket Insider Trading","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"Polymarket bettors appear to have insider-traded on a market designed to catch insider traders — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/02/27/polymarket-bettors-appear-to-have-insider-traded-on-a-market-designed-to-catch-insider-traders"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Axiom Insider Trading Scandal: Shocking Front-Running on Polymarket Exposed — CryptoRank","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryptorank.io/news/feed/d9599-axiom-insider-trading-polymarket-scandal"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Axiom's Insider Trading Scandal Spills Into Prediction Markets — Yahoo Finance / DL News","type":"news_article","url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/news/axiom-insider-trading-scandal-spills-211452093.html"}]},{"content":"ZachXBT's published investigation explicitly noted that the alleged conduct may fall within the jurisdiction of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), given that Broox Bauer is based in New York. The investigation framed the behavior — accessing confidential customer financial data to trade ahead of market-moving activity — as consistent with securities fraud or wire fraud theories that SDNY has historically pursued in crypto enforcement contexts. As of the reports available through late February 2026, no formal criminal charges or civil enforcement actions by the SEC, CFTC, or DOJ had been publicly announced in connection with the Axiom matter. The absence of confirmed charges does not preclude an ongoing investigation.","heading":"Regulatory and Legal Risk","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Another crypto executive accused of insider trading — TheStreet","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/another-crypto-executive-accused-of-insider-trading"},{"credibility":2,"name":"ZachXBT Names Axiom Exchange in Alleged Employee Crypto Insider Trading Investigation — CoinGape","type":"news_article","url":"https://coingape.com/zachxbt-names-axiom-exchange-in-alleged-employee-crypto-insider-trading-investigation/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"ZachXBT's In-Depth Investigation: A Complete Record of the Axiom Insider Trading Scandal — PANews","type":"research","url":"https://www.panewslab.com/en/articles/019c9ce8-7c27-771b-9de0-f5eecdc9b650"}]}],"sources_used":[{"credibility":1,"name":"ZachXBT alleges Axiom employee conducted insider trading — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/02/26/zachxbt-alleges-axiom-employee-conducted-insider-trading"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Polymarket bettors appear to have insider-traded on a market designed to catch insider traders — CoinDesk","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/02/27/polymarket-bettors-appear-to-have-insider-traded-on-a-market-designed-to-catch-insider-traders"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Solana trading platform employees accused of insider trading using sensitive customer data — DL News","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.dlnews.com/articles/defi/axiom-employees-accused-of-insider-trading-using-sensitive-customer-data/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"ZachXBT's In-Depth Investigation: A Complete Record of the Axiom Insider Trading Scandal — PANews","type":"research","url":"https://www.panewslab.com/en/articles/019c9ce8-7c27-771b-9de0-f5eecdc9b650"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Axiom Employees Exposed in Massive Insider Trading Scandal — CCN","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.ccn.com/analysis/crypto/axiom-employees-exposed-insider-trading-scandal-zachxbt/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Breaking: ZachXBT accuses Axiom employees of insider trading — crypto.news","type":"news_article","url":"https://crypto.news/zachxbt-axiom-employees-insider-trading-report-2026/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Axiom exchange hits $100 million in revenue just four months after launch — The Block","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/355676/axiom-exchange-hits-100-million-in-revenue-just-four-months-after-launch"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Axiom Exchange Becomes the Fastest Crypto Platform to Reach $300 Million in Revenue — Solana Floor","type":"news_article","url":"https://solanafloor.com/news/axiom-exchange-becomes-the-fastest-crypto-platform-to-reach-300-million-in-revenue"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Axiom Insider Trading Scandal Spills Into Prediction Markets — Yahoo Finance","type":"news_article","url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/news/axiom-insider-trading-scandal-spills-211452093.html"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Axiom Insider Trading Scandal: Shocking Front-Running on Polymarket Exposed — CryptoRank","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryptorank.io/news/feed/d9599-axiom-insider-trading-polymarket-scandal"},{"credibility":2,"name":"ZachXBT Names Axiom Exchange in Alleged Employee Crypto Insider Trading Investigation — CoinGape","type":"news_article","url":"https://coingape.com/zachxbt-names-axiom-exchange-in-alleged-employee-crypto-insider-trading-investigation/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Another crypto executive accused of insider trading — TheStreet","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/another-crypto-executive-accused-of-insider-trading"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Y Combinator — Axiom company profile","type":"official","url":"https://ycombinator.com/companies/axiom"},{"credibility":2,"name":"ZachXBT on X — Axiom background","type":"social_media","url":"https://x.com/zachxbt/status/2027016082536714503"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Investigator Reveals Year-long Insider Trading at Axiom DEX Platform — CoinPedia via TradingView","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.tradingview.com/news/coinpedia:d4f277b3e094b:0-investigator-reveals-year-long-insider-trading-at-axiom-dex-platform/"}],"summary":"Axiom is a Solana-based crypto trading platform founded in 2024 by Henry Zhang ('Mist') and Preston Ellis ('Cal'), which completed Y Combinator's Winter 2025 batch and generated over $390 million in cumulative revenue. In February 2026, blockchain investigator ZachXBT published a documented investigation revealing that a senior business development employee, Broox Bauer, along with colleagues, systematically abused internal dashboard tools with insufficient access controls to access private user wallet data and conduct insider trading for over 10 months beginning in early 2025. Axiom confirmed the breach, removed access to the implicated tools, and pledged an internal investigation, but no formal legal charges had been publicly filed as of the date of reporting.","timeline":[{"date":"2024-01-01","event":"Axiom Exchange founded by Henry Zhang ('Mist') and Preston Ellis ('Cal').","source":"ZachXBT on X","source_url":"https://x.com/zachxbt/status/2027016082536714503"},{"date":"2025-01-28","event":"Axiom launches to early access on Solana; Y Combinator Winter 2025 batch participant.","source":"Y Combinator on X","source_url":"https://x.com/ycombinator/status/1891548166761349359"},{"date":"2025-02-01","event":"Alleged insider trading scheme begins; Broox Bauer starts accessing private user wallet data via internal dashboards with no apparent monitoring.","source":"ZachXBT Investigation via PANews","source_url":"https://www.panewslab.com/en/articles/019c9ce8-7c27-771b-9de0-f5eecdc9b650"},{"date":"2025-04-01","event":"Broox Bauer posts a screenshot in private communications showing private wallet data of trader 'Jerry' obtained from Axiom's internal dashboard.","source":"CoinDesk","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/02/26/zachxbt-alleges-axiom-employee-conducted-insider-trading"},{"date":"2025-06-06","event":"Axiom reaches $100 million in cumulative revenue, 129 days after launch.","source":"The Block","source_url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/355676/axiom-exchange-hits-100-million-in-revenue-just-four-months-after-launch"},{"date":"2025-08-01","event":"Second screenshot surfaces showing Bauer sharing registration and wallet data for trader 'Monix'; discussion of querying users who traded specific meme tokens.","source":"CoinDesk","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/02/26/zachxbt-alleges-axiom-employee-conducted-insider-trading"},{"date":"2025-08-04","event":"Axiom reaches $200 million in cumulative revenue, setting a record for the fastest crypto application to reach that milestone.","source":"Solana Floor","source_url":"https://solanafloor.com/news/solana-trading-bot-axiom-becomes-the-fastest-application-to-reach-200-m-in-revenue"},{"date":"2026-02-01","event":"Recorded call captures Broox Bauer detailing a plan to use colleague Gowno's internal Axiom access to generate $200,000 in profits.","source":"ZachXBT Investigation via PANews","source_url":"https://www.panewslab.com/en/articles/019c9ce8-7c27-771b-9de0-f5eecdc9b650"},{"date":"2026-02-23","event":"ZachXBT publicly teases an impending insider trading exposé on social media without naming the company.","source":"DL News","source_url":"https://www.dlnews.com/articles/defi/axiom-employees-accused-of-insider-trading-using-sensitive-customer-data/"},{"date":"2026-02-25","event":"Multiple wallets begin placing large bets on the Polymarket prediction market contract speculating on which company ZachXBT would name, with bets concentrated on Axiom.","source":"CoinDesk","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/02/27/polymarket-bettors-appear-to-have-insider-traded-on-a-market-designed-to-catch-insider-traders"},{"date":"2026-02-26","event":"ZachXBT publishes full investigation naming Broox Bauer and three colleagues at Axiom for alleged insider trading via unauthorized access to user wallet data spanning over 10 months.","source":"CoinDesk","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/02/26/zachxbt-alleges-axiom-employee-conducted-insider-trading"},{"date":"2026-02-26","event":"Axiom co-founders issue statement saying they are 'shocked and disappointed,' confirm removal of access to implicated internal tools, and pledge an ongoing investigation.","source":"DL News","source_url":"https://www.dlnews.com/articles/defi/axiom-employees-accused-of-insider-trading-using-sensitive-customer-data/"},{"date":"2026-02-27","event":"CoinDesk reports that at least 12 wallets placed coordinated Polymarket bets on Axiom before the investigation's publication, with combined profits exceeding $1 million; account 'predictorxyz' earned approximately $411,000.","source":"CoinDesk","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/02/27/polymarket-bettors-appear-to-have-insider-traded-on-a-market-designed-to-catch-insider-traders"}]},"v":1}