In early 2022, a hack was discovered at DeFiChain, in which the attacker managed to steal around 1,600 Bitcoin. A friend of Bake CEO Julian Hosp was tasked with investigating the incident. The circumstances and results are questionable.
DeFiChain (DFI) is struggling to survive, with its price curve hovering just above an all-time low. Bake, the crypto company owned by Julian Hosp, initiated DeFiChain in 2020 but is now withdrawing funding and support. Hosp critic Lorena B. has previously uncovered various discrepancies involving Julian Hosp, DeFiChain, and Bake, and has now turned her attention to the hack at DFI, which was discovered in early 2022. She presented her findings on X, raising doubts about whether Hosp and his associates take transparency and responsibility seriously.
The story began in the summer of 2021. A protocol error allowed the attacker to claim fee revenue in dBTC instead of DFI on a 1:1 basis. dBTC is the wrapped version of Bitcoin in the DeFiChain ecosystem and is worth significantly more than DFI. When the hack was revealed on January 2, 2022, the haul, according to Lorena B., amounted to 1,664 dBTC, worth millions. DeFiChain had a serious problem at this point because dBTC in its ecosystem was no longer fully backed by real BTC. The community quickly followed a proposal by “Lord Mark Crypto” to provide 1 million DFI (worth around $2.5 million at the time) to start an investigation.
“Lord Mark Crypto” aka Mark Pedevilla – What Is His Connection to DFI?
“Lord Mark Crypto” is actually Mark Pedevilla, whose friendship with Julian Hosp dates back to their days at TenX and is well-documented on social media. He received the 1 million DFI on February 18, 2022 – and this is where things get murky. Just a week later, “Lord Mark Crypto” transferred the 1 million DFI to a wallet at Bake, and tracking it from there has proven difficult. When questioned by the community about what happened to the DFI and why, Mark Pedevilla did not provide a clear answer. The community’s decision to fund the investigation explicitly stated that the 1 million DFI should not be used for any other activities.
Lorena B. believes it is quite possible that the DFI in question generated passive earnings at Bake, potentially accumulating more than $1 million. “Lord Mark Crypto” has refused to provide an explanation. However, after nearly a year of “detective work,” he posted a report online, detailing his investigation and financial summary. According to Mark Pedevilla, he spent around 130,000 DFI and returned the remaining 870,000 DFI to the community’s treasury. He claimed that evidence had been gathered in the search for the hacker, and that law enforcement had begun pursuing the case in an undisclosed country.
Can Swiss Authorities Solve the DeFiChain Hack?
Information reached us in the summer that the legal proceedings related to the DeFiChain hack are taking place in Switzerland. Lorena B. has also “overheard” that the case is now being handled in Switzerland and that the crypto exchange KuCoin has revealed the hacker’s identity. Bake and, by extension, Julian Hosp, are likely hoping to recover the stolen Bitcoin, or at least part of it.
Meanwhile, “Lord Mark Crypto” remains silent, despite being closely involved in the hack investigation. Lorena B. wonders if Julian Hosp’s friend Mark Pedevilla may never have intended to genuinely investigate the case. The mudslinging surrounding Bake, in which Hosp eventually took over co-founder U-Zyn Chua’s shares, now seems different in light of recent events. If Julian Hosp was aware of a legitimate chance to recover the stolen Bitcoin from the DeFiChain hack, currently worth around $100 million, it would explain why he reportedly paid $10 million to take over Bake.
Conclusion: The Inner Circle of DeFiChain Around Julian Hosp and Mark Pedevilla
It would be easy for Julian Hosp and Mark Pedevilla to provide more information on the DeFiChain hack and the status of the official investigation. Since they have not done so, it suggests there may be something to hide. After all, it was the DeFiChain community that funded “Lord Mark Crypto’s” investigation. However, this close associate of Julian Hosp has already launched a new project called JAV Token, which again raises transparency concerns. As a result, Julian Hosp and his friend Mark Pedevilla continue to fuel speculation about the background of the multimillion-dollar hack at DeFiChain, which is part of the project’s ongoing decline.
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