Members of the crypto community have raised more than $38M for Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, who is currently imprisoned on multiple charges in London.
AssangeDao, a decentralized autonomous organization, is a fundraising group created by the crypto community who are accepting Ethereum with plans to donate funds raised from the sale toward Assange’s legal defence. Over 4 weeks, the AssangeDao has raised over 16,593 ETH ($52 million).
However, the community forum was distraught on Tuesday, upon learning that cybercriminals had breached the AssangeDao security systems and more than $30 million were reportedly stolen. Sources were able to confirm that the funds were stolen by a group of Russian hackers but debate prevails whether this was a “rugpull” by the creators of the fundraiser, a very common strategy in the crypto community to scam investors and token holders.
Gabriel Shipton, brother of Julian Assange, who become involved in the fundraiser, said investigations are underway to retrieve the stolen crypto. In a press conference, Shipton said, “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 15,000 ethers that are missing.”
