Prior rug/exit-scam affiliation
Balancer (v2 + v3)'s assessment for RD-F-115 — scored green on the v1.7.0 rubric. The evidence below is the curator's reasoning for this score.
Evidence summary #
Balancer Labs corporate wind-down (2026-03-24) is a board-approved financial/legal decision following the November 2025 $128M exploit — explicitly distinguished from a rug or exit scam by co-founder Fernando Martinelli and reported as such by CoinDesk, Unchained, DL News, The Block. Protocol remains operational under DAO/OpCo. Martinelli offered to remain as advisor. No team member has prior rug or exit-scam affiliation. The two major exploits (2023 $2.1M and 2025 $128M) were smart contract vulnerabilities, not insider theft.
Sources #
- URLBalancer Labs shuts down — DL NewsDL News: Balancer shutters for-profit entity — CEO interview, Martinelli on advisory roleretrieved 2026-05-05
- Balancer Labs shuts down — UnchainedUnchained: Balancer Labs shuts down corporate entity after $128M exploit — not a rugretrieved 2026-05-05
- Balancer Labs to shut down — CoinDesk 2026-03-24CoinDesk Balancer Labs wind-down article — board-approved, Martinelli cited, protocol continuesretrieved 2026-05-05
Methodology #
Determine whether any team member is linked via verified OSINT to a prior rug or exit-scam-labeled protocol.
See the full factor methodology and distribution across all protocols →