July 2023Investigation

$60M AnubisDAO exploit investigation

Investigation into the 2021 AnubisDAO 'rug pull' that drained $60M of raised ETH minutes after launch, tracing the funds nearly two years later.

Amount involved: $60,000,000
Outcome: Perpetrator identified

AnubisDAO raised roughly $60 million in ETH in October 2021 and lost all of it within twenty hours, when the liquidity was pulled to an unknown wallet. It became one of the era's defining rug pulls, and one of its most stubborn open questions, since the funds sat largely unmoved for years.

Figure 1: What happened to the raised ETH: into Tornado Cash, out across dozens of withdrawals, over two bridges, and eventually into exchanges. The dormant years did not erase the path.

The July 2023 investigation traced what had happened to the raised ETH and assembled the evidence around who controlled the draining wallet. Cases like this hinge on patience: dormant stolen funds eventually move, and when they do, the years of preparation determine whether the movement yields answers.

The published analysis gave the case its most complete public accounting, connecting the 2021 drain to activity and entities that could be pursued further.

Timeline

October 2021
AnubisDAO's liquidity, roughly $60M in ETH, is drained to an unknown wallet within a day of the raise.
2021–2023
The stolen ETH sits largely dormant; the case remains one of DeFi's most-watched open questions.
July 20, 2023
Investigation published tracing the funds and assembling evidence around who controlled the draining wallet.

Source threads

Investigation into the $60M AnubisDAO drain: where the raised ETH went, and the evidence around who controlled the wallet.

ZachXBT@zachxbtJuly 2023