Across Protocol Team Faces Allegations of $23 Million Withdrawal from DAO as ACX Token Drops Over 10%

The price of the Across Protocol (ACX) token has dropped by over 10% following allegations against the team regarding manipulation of the DAO and insider trading prior to its listing on Binance.

As of the time of writing, the asset is trading at $0.13, reflecting a 10.1% decline over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko.

Ogle, the founder of Glue, claimed that the Across Protocol team withdrew ACX tokens worth approximately $23 million from the treasury. He stated that the funds were directed towards their «private commercial company,» Risk Labs. Allegedly, the team used controlled wallets to vote on «favorable» proposals without disclosing their vested interests.

Hart Lambur, CEO of Risk Labs, refuted these accusations.

He clarified that Risk Labs is a non-profit organization registered in the Cayman Islands, not a private entity. According to Lambur, the grants were allocated for protocol development and team expansion, not for personal profit.

Lambur further stated that employees voted using personal wallets that were not concealed. He also pointed out that one of the controversial proposals was approved unanimously, and there were no objections during the seven-day voting window.

Later, the founder of LayerZero, Brian Pellegrino, suggested that Lambur might have engaged in insider trading.

He alleged that the CEO of Risk Labs purchased ACX shortly before the unexpected listing on Binance in December 2024.

Lambur described this as «despicable behavior from a competitor.»

“We had no idea that Binance would list ACX. We found out about it on Twitter, just like everyone else. The exchange can confirm this,” he stated.

Lambur confirmed that he bought tokens from a public wallet to support the project and still holds them. The CEO of Risk Labs mentioned that the team was in talks with Binance in early 2024, but communications ceased several months before the listing. He accused Pellegrino of defamation stemming from competition.

It’s worth noting that in May 2024, the teams from Uniswap Labs and Across Protocol proposed a new industry standard, ERC-7683, for discussion.