Verify a decision

{"actor":"system:backfill","investigation_id":"4e4c6e60-fd9f-49e7-bdd2-f92bf2ed0ee2","kind":"publish","page_slug":"elephant-money","published_at":"2026-05-19T20:59:35.335Z","sequence_num":1,"snapshot":{"content_type":"investigation","entity_name":"Elephant Money","sections":[{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://nydripper.medium.com/bankteller-ama-summary-03-29-2022-founder-of-elephant-money-3cf3ca025a94"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://skynet.certik.com/projects/elephant"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://medium.com/@HackLaddy/elephant-money-a-complex-scam-3277338547c1"}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://rekt.news/elephant-money-rekt"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://de.fi/blog/price-manipulation-attack-elephant-money-loses-22-2-million-aab84e469350"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://medium.com/elephant-money/reserve-exploit-52fd36ccc7e8"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://therecord.media/hackers-steal-more-than-11-million-from-elephant-money-defi-platform"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.pymnts.com/cryptocurrency/2022/hackers-attack-elephant-money-defi-platform-steal-over-11m/"}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://de.fi/blog/price-manipulation-attack-elephant-money-loses-22-2-million-aab84e469350"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://skynet.certik.com/projects/elephant"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://rekt.news/elephant-money-rekt"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.aliens.com/livenews/latest/the-initial-funds-that-launched-the-elephant-money-hack-came-from-tornado-cash"}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://nydripper.medium.com/bankteller-ama-summary-03-29-2022-founder-of-elephant-money-3cf3ca025a94"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://skynet.certik.com/projects/elephant"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://lighthousecrypto.com/passive/elephant-money/"}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://medium.com/@HackLaddy/elephant-money-a-complex-scam-3277338547c1"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://medium.com/@HackLaddy/the-elephant-money-scam-back-for-round-2-77be39143672"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://rekt.news/elephant-money-rekt"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://skynet.certik.com/projects/elephant"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/elephant-money"}]}],"sources_used":[],"summary":"Elephant Money is a Binance Smart Chain DeFi protocol offering the ELEPHANT reward token and TRUNK stablecoin that suffered a $22.2 million flash loan price-manipulation exploit in April 2022, with stolen funds laundered through Tornado Cash. Independent analysts have additionally alleged that the protocol's yield mechanics constitute a structurally unsustainable Ponzi scheme dependent on continuous new capital inflows.","timeline":[{"date":"2021-03-26","event":"CertiK audit completed; protocol receives 30/100 security score with 8 findings, all left unresolved","source":""},{"date":"2021-05-01","event":"Elephant Money launches on Binance Smart Chain with ELEPHANT token and TRUNK stablecoin","source":""},{"date":"2022-03-29","event":"Founder 'Bankteller' conducts public AMA, describes protocol as valued at $3.5 billion and claims no other developers on team","source":""},{"date":"2022-04-12","event":"Flash loan price manipulation exploit drains $11.2–$22.2 million from protocol reserves; attacker address funded via Tornado Cash; ELEPHANT token drops 76–88%","source":""},{"date":"2022-04-13","event":"Stolen funds bridged to Ethereum and laundered through Tornado Cash; approximately 3,472 ETH ($10M) moved off-chain","source":""},{"date":"2022-04-18","event":"De.fi publishes full analysis placing total losses at $22.2 million including 30.4 trillion ELEPHANT tokens not disclosed in official post-mortem","source":""},{"date":"2022-04-01","event":"HackLaddy publishes analysis alleging Ponzi structure, calling 205% APY unsustainable and dependent on new investor capital","source":""},{"date":"2023-12-26","event":"HackLaddy publishes follow-up analysis after Elephant Money revamp, maintaining allegations of structurally unsustainable yield and Ponzi mechanics","source":""},{"date":"2026-05-19","event":"ELEPHANT token trades near $0.000000074 with ~$20M market cap; TRUNK remains significantly depegged; redemptions available only via managed queue","source":""}]},"v":1}