Protocol Accused of Manipulating DAO Governance for $23 Million Transfer

Allegations have emerged against Across Protocol, a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), accusing it of manipulating its governance process to transfer $23 million worth of tokens to Risk Labs, a company connected to its core team. The controversy was brought to light by Ogle, the anonymous founder of the Layer-1 project Glue, who raised concerns about the voting manipulation within the DAO.

The accusations have cast doubt on the transparency and integrity of DAO operations within the cryptocurrency industry. Despite being well-regarded in the crypto community, Across Protocol has been called into question as potentially operating as a disingenuous DAO, with governance proposals orchestrated to suit the interests of insiders.

Hart Lambur, the founder of Across Protocol and Risk Labs, has vehemently refuted these allegations. Lambur insisted that Risk Labs is a nonprofit based in the Cayman Islands with no shareholders, dismissing any suggestions of conflicts of interest. The controversy revolves around two main proposals. While the first proposal garnered significant approval with 97% support from 13.1 million token holders, the second proposal, requesting 50 million ACX tokens for retroactive funding, only passed due to votes from insiders. Analysis has revealed that a substantial portion of voting power was derived from wallets associated with Hart Lambur and members of the Risk Labs team, raising concerns about the fairness of decision-making processes within the DAO.

Ogle has pointed out that the second proposal lacked guarantees of funds being used for Across and had no official agreements between the two companies. He also noted that on-chain data unveiled undisclosed agreements among Risk Labs team members. Ogle further highlighted that the second-largest voting wallet, representing almost 14% of the total vote, was initially funded by Hart Lambur. In response, Lambur countered that team members individually purchased tokens and cast public votes, countering allegations of concealed voting. He also called into question Ogle’s credibility, citing potential conflicts of interest arising from Ogle’s affiliations with competing projects.

These allegations have sparked backlash within the community, with many questioning the legality of governance processes within the DAO. The 150 million tokens involved in the controversy amount to over $22 million, based on the value of ACX at the time of the accusations. Furthermore, there have been allegations of insider trading in relation to the ACX Binance listing. Bryan Pellegrino, the founder of LayerZero, suggested that Lambur may have possessed insider information when purchasing ACX tokens before the unexpected Binance listing in December 2024. Lambur refuted these claims, stating that he was unaware of the listing and only learned about it through Twitter. He clarified that Across did not pay a listing fee and received no advance notice from Binance. However, Pellegrino referenced a tweet from Across regarding months of discussions with Binance’s listing team, insinuating that most companies restrict trading during such interactions.