{"id":77115,"date":"2023-04-12T18:54:44","date_gmt":"2023-04-12T15:54:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/?p=77115"},"modified":"2025-09-10T21:29:02","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T18:29:02","slug":"dwf-labs-linked-to-dubious-deals-worth-at-least-65-million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/dwf-labs-linked-to-dubious-deals-worth-at-least-65-million\/","title":{"rendered":"DWF Labs Linked to Dubious Deals Worth at Least $65 Million"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>DWF Labs, a market maker, has been suspected of dumping tokens from its portfolio projects totaling at least $65 million. The alert came from a Twitter user going by Nay.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\\\"twitter-tweet\\\">\n<p lang=\\\"en\\\" dir=\\\"ltr\\\">1\/ Who the heck is DWF Labs? <\/p>\n<p>In the last couple of months, they have been everywhere, throwing ridiculous checks at everyone from legit projects to dead ones.<\/p>\n<p>I dug a bit into on-chain data and other resources, and it doesn\u2019t look good.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Nay (@nay_gmy) <a href=\\\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nay_gmy\/status\/1645426187160924161?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\\\">April 10, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\\\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\\\" charset=\\\"utf-8\\\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Nay examined the company\u2019s transactions and found that they could not be classified as \\&#8221;standard market-maker deals.\\&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\\\"twitter-tweet\\\" data-conversation=\\\"none\\\">\n<p lang=\\\"en\\\" dir=\\\"ltr\\\">2\/ On this screenshot are some of the transactions that I found onchain. And there is much more. <\/p>\n<p>Almost in every case the number of tokens in\/stables out matches by time &amp; dollar amount, meaning these are not loans, hence not standard MM deals.<\/p>\n<p>$65m confirmed. <a href=\\\"https:\/\/t.co\/E6tcrrixsH\\\">pic.twitter.com\/E6tcrrixsH<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Nay (@nay_gmy) <a href=\\\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nay_gmy\/status\/1645426189300035586?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\\\">April 10, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\\\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\\\" charset=\\\"utf-8\\\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\\\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\\\">\n<p>\u201cIn almost every case, the number of tokens in\/out matches by time and dollar amount, which means these are not loans,\u201d Nay wrote.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>All the deals he studied consisted of two stages:<\/p>\n<ul class=\\\"wp-block-list\\\">\n<li>DWF Labs either conduct numerous transactions of 50,000-100,000 stablecoins per day, or carry out larger deals up to $5 million;<\/li>\n<li>sends all the coins to centralized exchanges.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote class=\\\"twitter-tweet\\\" data-conversation=\\\"none\\\">\n<p lang=\\\"en\\\" dir=\\\"ltr\\\">3\/ The pattern for all their deals is: they either buy in many transactions of 50-100k stables once a day or so or in larger transactions of up to $5m per tx. <\/p>\n<p>The second leg is always the same though \u2013 they deposit it all (or almost all) on CEXes. <a href=\\\"https:\/\/t.co\/tyJk6GHmov\\\">pic.twitter.com\/tyJk6GHmov<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Nay (@nay_gmy) <a href=\\\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nay_gmy\/status\/1645426191636246528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\\\">April 10, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\\\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\\\" charset=\\\"utf-8\\\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>DWF Labs operates in the Korean market. Since November 2022, 11 projects in which the market maker invested have voluntarily disclosed information via Xangle, but for most of them the dollar amounts are not disclosed.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\\\"twitter-tweet\\\" data-conversation=\\\"none\\\">\n<p lang=\\\"en\\\" dir=\\\"ltr\\\">4\/ DWF is active in the Korean market. Some Korean projects voluntarily disclose new investments on Xangle. <\/p>\n<p>11 projects disclosed since November, most without the $ amount. DWF invested $5m into a $6m mcap APM. BIOT disclosure doesn\u2019t match onchain data.<a href=\\\"https:\/\/t.co\/nKKKgWKqhC\\\">https:\/\/t.co\/nKKKgWKqhC<\/a> <a href=\\\"https:\/\/t.co\/TrDK21668G\\\">pic.twitter.com\/TrDK21668G<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Nay (@nay_gmy) <a href=\\\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nay_gmy\/status\/1645426194014408707?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\\\">April 10, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\\\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\\\" charset=\\\"utf-8\\\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Nay also found a number of inconsistencies in this information:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\\\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\\\">\n<p>\u201cDWF Labs invested $5 million in APM with a $6 million capitalization. BIOT disclosure does not match on-chain data. There are also several deals they reported that I couldn\u2019t reconcile. The strangest thing is that in many cases on-chain activity doesn\u2019t come close to the reported volumes.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\\\"twitter-tweet\\\" data-conversation=\\\"none\\\">\n<p lang=\\\"en\\\" dir=\\\"ltr\\\">5\/ There are also some deals that they reported but I couldn\u2019t match them onchain. Many of them are high-profile deals.<\/p>\n<p>The weird thing about those is that in many cases no on-chain activity would correspond to anything close to reported sizes, which is not the case for others. <a href=\\\"https:\/\/t.co\/mNUVwuhcYl\\\">pic.twitter.com\/mNUVwuhcYl<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Nay (@nay_gmy) <a href=\\\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nay_gmy\/status\/1645426196094799872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\\\">April 10, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\\\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\\\" charset=\\\"utf-8\\\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>In total, DWF Labs\u2019 partners have disclosed deals totaling nearly $150 million. The user was able to confirm on-chain deals totaling $65 million, but suggested there may be more:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\\\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\\\">\n<p>\u201cIf you start digging, you will see a bunch of other tokens with the same patterns passing through their wallets. We\u2019re talking hundreds of millions of dollars, mostly in the last six months.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Nay was surprised that a company hardly known until recently had invested around $200 million in liquid tokens and placed most of them on exchanges.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\\\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\\\">\n<p>\u201cI think one explanation is that they sell tokens on behalf of teams and send the money upfront, pocketing the delta. Many deals have a 10\u201320% discount, others don\u2019t. But why is this being pitched as \u201cstrategic partnership\u201d and investments?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>After DWF Labs\u2019 operations, tokens SSV, SNX, TIME, FLOKI fell 10% to 40%. Some dropped more than 90%.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\\\"twitter-tweet\\\" data-conversation=\\\"none\\\">\n<p lang=\\\"en\\\" dir=\\\"ltr\\\">9\/ Regarding post-investment price action, tokens have generally underperformed.<\/p>\n<p>The last 4 tokens on the list \u2013 SSV, SNX, TIME, FLOKI, have lost between 10% and 40% since the 1st DWF&apos;s tx on exchanges (sorry for the charts, can\\&#8217;t do any better atm). Some are down 90%+ <a href=\\\"https:\/\/t.co\/juashQ4WFB\\\">pic.twitter.com\/juashQ4WFB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Nay (@nay_gmy) <a href=\\\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nay_gmy\/status\/1645426204114305027?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\\\">April 10, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\\\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\\\" charset=\\\"utf-8\\\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Nay also found a wallet, <a href=\\\"https:\/\/etherscan.io\/address\/0x90D789458c40aDA07202cBDCF880CFF4922Ff36B\\\">in which the market maker allegedly holds tokens<\/a>. At the time of writing it held $9 million.<\/p>\n<p>The managing partner of DWF Labs is Andrey Grachev. Since 2018, the community has accused him of various crypto frauds, including raising funds for a project that never launched, inefficient portfolio management, and a link to OneCoin \u2014 a $4 billion crypto pyramid.<\/p>\n<p>Shortly after the thread was published, Grachev commented on his LinkedIn page. He said that DWF Labs \u201cdoes not just invest money, but is a partner and a friend\u201d to its portfolio projects. The cheque size and the terms of possible cooperation are adjusted, he said, on the basis of the project\u2019s assessment.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\\\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\\\">\n<p>\u201cWe invest at pre-seed and seed stages, usually via SAFT. We also invest in line with vesting schedules and lock-up periods or tranches if the coin is already registered and trading,\u201d wrote Grachev.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>He noted that almost all DWF Labs\u2019 assets are kept on CEXs \\\u201cfor security and capital-efficiency reasons, including as collateral for trading.\\\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\\\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\\\">\n<p>\u201cWe never invest in NFTs, we adjust our investments based on counterparty risk, and we never keep too much money on hot wallets \u2014 there are too many cases of hacks affecting market makers and funds, and we do not want to be among the victims,\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In early April, DWF Labs <a href=\"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/news\/alchemy-pay-raises-10-million-for-expansion-in-south-korea\">invested $10 million<\/a> in the payments platform Alchemy Pay. Following the strategic investment, it was valued at $400 million.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DWF Labs, a market maker, is suspected of dumping tokens from its portfolio projects totaling at least $65 million. The alert came from a Twitter user.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":77116,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"select":"1","news_style_id":"1","cryptorium_level":"","_short_excerpt_text":"","creation_source":"","_metatest_mainpost_news_update":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1323,52,974],"class_list":["post-77115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-investigations","tag-investments","tag-south-korea"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"views":"24","promo_type":"1","layout_type":"1","short_excerpt":"","is_update":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77115"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77115\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77117,"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77115\/revisions\/77117"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}