TL/DR
- Alarming track record uncovered with respect to anon TrueFi Board Member Ferengi
- Demand greater transparency of Ferengi and his “grand CDP vision”
- Limit any material long-term changes before independent board members are elected
Dear TrueFi Community,
We hereby notify the community of a second ongoing governance attack and our investigation has unfortunately led us to uncover suspected bad actors and a mosaic of questionable activity related to collateralized debt protocol architecture (”CDP”) exit scams and pump and dumps.
We ask for greater transparency into the two-person Board of Directors’ plan to form a budget— before they have articulated a plan and before they’ve brought on additional outside directors.
Moreover, do we want a board member who has (1) a history of close association with exit scams and pump and dumps, (2) clear association and support of known scammers, and (3) a dismally poor investment track record to be in charge of the new “Vision” for TrueFi? Do you want this supposed “Vision” to be hidden behind closed doors?
If the answers to the above questions are yes, then Cicada Partners has no interest to remain as part of TrueFi.
With that said, we feel it is our obligation to share the following findings:
Ferengi: Supporter of Known Scammers and DAO Capital Destroyer
Ferengi’s history of partnerships reads like a “who’s who” of crypto’s most notorious scammers. His close associations with Sifu, aka Michael Patryn—the convicted fraudster behind QuadrigaCX—are deeply troubling. Patryn is well known in DeFi for resurfacing under the pseudonym “Sifu” and wreaking havoc with Sifu Vision, a project Ferengi has wholeheartedly endorsed. These connections warrant careful scrutiny, especially when considering governance and the allocation of community resources.
Below you will see The_Ferengi’s open support of known scammer 0xSifu in the Wonderland Forums:
Another clear alliance is with Masa, aka TheSkyHopper, a founder of Bastion Trading, who resigned as TrueFi’s board amid a scandal over undisclosed conflicts of interest whereby Masa, as a Board Director, attempted to overstep the governance process and force through an unpopular proposal that was a disguised acquisition of an index product that TrueFi already had built.
We have on first-hand account that Masa recommended Ferengi to the board and are deeply intertwined, with the former’s connections to Teragon.io, linking all parties to Volta Club (more on this below).
Masa’s resignation from TrueFi came after accusations of governance attacks, yet Ferengi still operates as a one of a two-person Board of Directors, which is proposing to quickly centralize resources to the Teragon team before the DAO elects additional board members.
History of Pump and Dumps
SIFU was merely the first in a long line of questionable public recommendations from Ferengi. Most recently came ENQAI, a supposed “decentralized AI” project that sought to capitalize on the AI craze gripping the market in late 2023.
An anonymous team of developers, no transparent spending or fund raising, and the telltale signs of a pump-and-dump scheme. ENQAI was hyped, pumped to unsustainable heights, and—like clockwork—dumped just as fast. Six months after its peak, outsiders were clearly left holding the bag.
After very preliminary research, a similar pattern has emerged: Ferengi would endorse a project, publicly support before the inevitable crash. This could be due to poor judgment on his part, or something more concerning. His involvement in Interport, which raised millions in a private round before plummeting to a $10 million market cap, follows this same blueprint. At this time we struggle to find evidence of bad insiders there, just questionable actions in capital markets.
Volta Club
But perhaps the very worst indictment on Ferengi’s capacity to hold a Directorship and tendency to sponsor questionable activity is Volta Club. Volta Club is little more than a rebranded scam, born out of the ashes of Wonderland, which promised investors staggering returns of up to 80,000% APY before crumbling. Wonderland was nothing more than a fork of the ill-fated Ohm protocol, itself known for its rapid rise and even faster fall. Wonderland collapsed, and Volta Club is now following in its footsteps, only in a highly illiquid, but slow death spiral.
Below is a quick summary of The_Ferengi’s PUBLIC investment recommendations to the project:
Ferengi, as Treasury Manager, proposed to increase Volta Club’s allocation to UwU, a fork of Aave by an anonymous team. Conveniently, before UwU was “hacked” in what many experts suspect was an inside job, Ferengi increased Volta’s exposure further to 20%. The protocol was “audited,” but the oracle was somehow left out of scope from the audit and ultimately became the hacker’s entry point. Ferengi’s backing of UwU, just like SIFU and others, left Volta holding a worthless asset that they could pass to the blame of “hackers”. CDP-based exit scam.
A proven track record is critical when evaluating the suitability of board members and service providers. It serves as a key indicator of trustworthiness, reliability, and the ability to act in the best interest of the community. Any history of questionable practices or lack of transparency should raise immediate red flags, particularly when significant responsibilities and large budgets are at stake. Ensuring that those in leadership positions have demonstrated integrity and sound decision-making is essential for the long-term success of any project or protocol. Ferengi’s track record in his previous treasury management positions and his public recommendation of $SIFU and UwU raise the question of his suitability to continue to serve the TrueFi board in the capacity of Director.
If Ferengi’s “treasury experience” has emerged from the shadows of Wonderland, with his now-infamous recommendation of $SIFU and UwU, we can’t see how any crypto protocol or future board member would want to be associated with this actor’s “Vision” and give him access to a seven-figure budget from the DAO.
Today, Volta Club and Sifu Vision’s so-called investments have became dangerously illiquid, with the projects pivoting to obscure early-stage assets, with limited public DAO details, and sharing information on a privately managed spreadsheet. Their unverified balance sheet shows a dramatic collapse from $150 million to a mere $33 million through the recent bull market, most of it seemingly trapped in the sinking opaque ship that is $SIFU.
Final Words
It’s truly unfortunate to see these kinds of allegations being made within such an avant-garde crypto lending primitive. Let it be known that Cicada Partners take these allegations very seriously. We firmly believe that integrity and reputation shall never be compromised for the sake of short term financial gain. We ask that, at a minimum, the community ask Ferengi to doxx his identity and explain the mosaic of questionable activities.
Best regards and be safe,
Cicada Partners
Hang in there and stay positive 