Filecoin liquid staking platform STFIL claims team members under investigation by Chinese police

Quick Take

  • Filecoin-based STFIL stated on X Tuesday that its core team members were under investigation by Chinese police.
  • The project said a large amount of Filecoin tokens were moved to an external address.

The core team members of Filecoin-based liquid staking protocol STFIL are currently under investigation by Chinese police for reasons unknown, the team claimed in a post shared on X.

“We understand lawyers have been hired to understand the current situation and provide legal assistance to the individuals under detention,” STFIL wrote.

The team further stated that Filecoin tokens from the platform were moved to an external address last week while the core technical team members were under detention. This address currently holds 2.5 million FIL tokens ($22 million). The funds were moved amid an unscheduled update to the protocol, which the team said was “abnormal.”

“Upon learning the above information, the team is actively seeking assistance,” STFIL wrote. “We hope that the community can help track this unknown address and discuss ways to protect the interests of stakeholders.”

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STFIL is a liquid staking protocol on Filecoin lets users earn staking rewards on their FIL tokens while still use them in DeFi by giving them liquid staking tokens (LSTs) in exchange for their deposits. Its total value locked stands at $40 million, dropping nearly 60% since the start of April.

Last August, Chinese authorities charged a local Filecoin mining firm and its executives for allegedly orchestrating an $83.3 million pyramid scheme. In 2021, the local police seized $62 million from a Filecoin miner.

STFIL did not immediately respond to The Block’s request for further comments.


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About Author

Danny Park is an East Asia reporter at The Block writing on topics including Web3 developments and crypto regulations in the region. He was formerly a reporter at Forkast.News, where he actively covered the downfall of Terra-Luna and FTX. Based in Seoul, Danny has previously produced written and video content for media companies in Korea, Hong Kong and China. He holds a Bachelor of Journalism and Business Marketing from the University of Hong Kong.

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