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Hassan Shittu
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Hassan Shittu
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Apriori, a trading infrastructure startup backed by the venture arm of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, is facing scrutiny after blockchain data revealed that thousands of newly created wallets secretly claimed most of their token airdrop.
On October 23, Apriori distributed its APR token on Ethereum and BNB Chain as part of a “Genesis Airdrop” it meant to reward early contributors, testnet users and NFT holders from partner communities like MadLads and Moonbirds.
However, the blockchain analysis reviewed by the researchers shows that about 80% of the tokens in BNB Chain were claimed by more than 5,800 wallets linked to a single clustered group.
The model suggests an organized Sybil Attacka tactic where airdrop hunters deploy thousands of wallets to claim rewards multiple times.
Inside Job or Coincidence? Portfolio models cast doubt on the fairness of Airdrop d’Apriori
Second to On-chain data, the cluster of wallets was created and financed days before Apriori publicly announced that his token would be claimable on BNB Chain, raising questions about whether internal information can be used.
Between October 19 and 20, these wallets were each funded with small amounts of BNB from just 13 addresses, enough to perform airdrop claim transactions.
Those 13 wallets, which channeled the funds, remain unidentified. Analysts who reviewed the data says the activity occurred before the eligibility criteria were published on October 22, suggesting prior knowledge of the airdrop network and timing.
Further analysis of the top 200 APR holders found that almost all were newly created between October 5th and October 6th, have no significant trading history, and engaged in little or no on-chain activity beyond receiving the token.
Only three wallets among the main holders appear to belong to real users with previous transactions and NFT activity. The rest showed almost identical business behavior and transaction patterns, indicating automated control or coordination.
Apriori and its founder, Ray Song, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Apriori’s investors include YZi Labs (formerly Binance Labs), HashKey Capital, Pantera Capital and Primitive Ventures.
The startup, developed by former engineers from Jump Trading, Coinbase, and Citadel Securities, has raised $30 million to build an “execution layer” for on-chain crypto markets, using high-frequency trading strategies to improve efficiency and reduce the effects of maximum extractable value.
The APR token, which debuted at a market cap of $93 million, has fallen more than 60% since its all-time high of $0.7396 on launch day, according to CoinGecko data. As of publication, the token is trading at less than half of its debut value.
Apriori Airdrop Scandal adds to the growing list of Sybil attacks
The episode has raised questions about whether the airdrop was compromised internally or manipulated through insider knowledge.
Critics in the Monad community, where Apriori was initially expected to launch its token, have expressed frustration, accusing the project of betraying its supporters and damaging trust before the anticipated debut of the Monad mainnet.
The incident echoes a growing list of Sybil-style airdrop scandals in the crypto sector.
In September, the decentralized exchange MYX Finance faced similar charges when 100 wallets allegedly linked to his team claimed $170 million of MYX tokens.
Last year, zkSync and Solana-based Io.net suffered large-scale Sybil exploitswith attackers using automated wallets and fake GPU reports to claim millions in rewards.
LayerZero Labs too the blacklist of hundreds of thousands of suspected Sybil addresses last year in an effort to protect its token distribution.
Such tactics remain difficult to detect and prevent. Analysts warn that such Sybil attacks have become a recurring problem in the industry, eroding trust in token distribution events.
