A governance storm has erupted in the DeFi space, with bridge protocol Across being accused of quietly directing $23 million in ACX tokens to its parent organization, Risk Labs.
The claims come from Ogle, a pseudonymous crypto commentator known for digging into controversial protocol activity.
Ogle alleges that key wallet addresses, connected to the Across team, orchestrated back-to-back governance votes to shift funds—$15 million and $7.5 million worth—to Risk Labs, calling the DAO a façade controlled by insiders. He described the move as self-serving and opaque.
Across CEO Hart Lambur fired back, labeling the accusations “completely false.” He defended the transfers as legitimate funding for protocol upgrades, with all voting done transparently. Lambur also criticized the tone of the allegations and questioned Ogle’s credibility, citing past controversy involving the TRUMP memecoin.
The feud quickly escalated when LayerZero co-founder Brian Pellegrino joined the fray, suggesting Lambur purchased ACX ahead of its Binance listing. Lambur denied the charge, saying the team learned about the listing after the fact, just like everyone else.
Despite Ogle admitting some uncertainty in his findings, he maintained that the situation raises serious questions about governance integrity. The ACX token fell around 10% following the revelations.
As is often the case in DeFi, behind-the-scenes tension, anonymous whistleblowers, and token politics have collided once again—raising broader concerns about how truly decentralized some DAOs really are.
Alexander Zdravkov
Reporter at Coindoo
Alexander Zdravkov is passionate about questions of meaning. He is a fluent German speaker as well as He has been in the crypto space for more than three years and has an eye for spotting emerging trends in the world of digital currencies. Whether providing in-depth analysis or reporting on all topics on a daily basis, his deep understanding and enthusiasm for what he does makes him a valuable addition to the team.
Source: https://coindoo.com/crypto-project-across-accused-of-secretly-moving-23m-to-its-own-company/