Filecoin’s Liquid Staking Team Under Chinese Police Investigation, Where Are The Protocol’s Tokens?

On Tuesday, it was reported that STFIL, a platform facilitating the staking of Filecoin (FIL) tokens, disclosed an ongoing investigation by Chinese authorities against their team. The whereabouts of their FIL tokens, previously under their management, have become uncertain and transferred to an unidentified wallet outside their reach.

The Filecoin Foundation is currently looking into an occurrence that has left investors questioning what may happen to their staked FIL tokens.

Is Chinese Police Behind The Missing Tokens?

Based on a recent announcement by the STFIL Protocol team, they have expressed concerns that they are currently under investigation by the local Chinese authorities. As mentioned in the statement, this suspicion arises following the detainment of their core technical team members last week.

Based on our information, it’s suspected that the STFIL core tech team is currently under investigation by the Chinese police. We’ve also learned that lawyers have been retained to clarify the situation and offer legal support to those in custody.
Last week, when the core technical team…
— STFIL Protocol (@stfil_io) April 9, 2024

While the team did not give approval, it is claimed that FIL tokens secured in the STFIL platform were transferred during detention to a puzzling outside location. This enigmatic address currently controls approximately 2.56 million FIL, valued at roughly $23 million.

On April 7th, a representative from FilOZ, the autonomous group of Filecoin’s public goods developers, disclosed that they had been approached by the community regarding certain smart contract actions connected to STFIL and FVM (Filecoin Virtual Machine).

The developer alerted users of the suspicious activity in the staking protocol. The FilOZ member warned of an unknown upgrade scheduled for the contract, which “could be concerning.” Additionally, she urged lenders to consider withdrawing their tokens before the upgrade.

STFIL confirmed the reports on their X post. The team informed that the protocol had undergone several “abnormal, unscheduled upgrades” during the past few days.

Additionally, the protocol requested the community’s help in keeping an eye on the uncertain address and “brainstorm solutions” for safeguarding the investors’ concerns.

The announcement has sparked unease among lenders, who are fretting over their Filecoin tokens and how to recover them. many users of the Filecoin protocol are expressing worry and asking questions about the mysterious events, wondering why the team didn’t disclose earlier about their detainment or the unauthorized actions.

How can the police just take over the funds just like that.

— Benny Chong (@iambennychong) April 9, 2024

Filecoin Foundation Steps In

The STFIL investors requested the Filecoin Foundation’s intervention in the matter. They believed that due to the severity of the situation, the Filecoin team’s involvement was necessary to handle the issue and provide support to FIL investors.

Initially, the organization appeared to keep a distance from the project by sharing a message about it on X, which was claimed to be from an “independent third-party” working within the Filecoin community.

Users expressed their displeasure towards the foundation’s position in a short amount of time. The significance of STFIL in the Filecoin network was emphasized by members of the community. Among the responses, various Filecoin token holders mentioned that they had invested their savings in the staking platform.

The Filecoin Foundation is closely monitoring and assessing the current circumstances surrounding @stFIL_io. Our main goal as an organization is to foster a thriving and prosperous network for all its members, including stFIL_io.
In light of this evolving situation, the network upgrade coordinators have…
— Filecoin Foundation (@FilFoundation) April 9, 2024

Later on, the organization announced that they are currently monitoring and assessing the situation. Consequently, the planned nv22 network upgrade has been rescheduled to April 24.

In response to criticism, the Filecoin Foundation reiterated its commitment to ensuring the well-being of the network and all its users. Currently, the pilfered tokens are still held in an unauthorized wallet, with no announced strategy for retrieval.

Filecoin’s Liquid Staking Team Under Chinese Police Investigation, Where Are The Protocol’s Tokens?

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2024-04-10 06:12