Zipcoin has announced plans to shut down after a security breach exposed its code, secrets and private keys. The project said an earlier incident involving UNCX on October 15 also affected several Ethereum tokens, including ZC, its own token. The team claimed a hacker drained 1.1% of the supply across the affected tokens before selling them on the market.
In its closure statement, Zipcoin said it had tried to recover the losses by buying tokens on the open market. However, the team later said it learned that its entire codebase had been compromised, leaving the attacker with access to project wallets and infrastructure. It said attempts to move the project or change its credentials had failed.
Zipcoin also said its wallets still held 2.2% of the token supply. It planned to give holders six hours to sell before selling the remaining holdings and moving the funds. The project’s X account has since been deleted, making it harder for holders to follow updates or ask questions directly. Also, the closure statement alone does not confirm whether the planned sales and fund transfers took place.
Critics question Zipcoin’s design and past claims
The shutdown drew criticism from crypto users, with some arguing the security breach wasn’t the only problem. X user @Eric called Zipcoin a scam and alleged that it copied 0xBow and made false claims about ties to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. He urged investors to examine projects carefully before buying their tokens.
This project was always a scam if you took more than 5 minutes to look into it. I stay quiet on this stuff because bag holders will threaten me if I call it out but it was a clone of 0xBow with fake VB ties
I suggest using a Claude code session to vet any project before you buy
— eric (@econoar) October 22, 2026
These claims remain allegations and are not independently proven by the posts provided. Still, the criticism raises questions about how investors check a project’s code, team claims and links to other projects before putting money into it. A project can attract buyers with claims about privacy technology or links to well-known figures, but investors should verify those claims rather than accept them at face value.
Another critic, posting as @heat, argued that Zipcoin’s design had limits and offered less than its supporters claimed. Heat said investors should study a project’s technical design, check which parts of its technology are original, understand its dependencies and ask whether it can grow beyond its first use. This criticism points to a common risk in crypto, where excitement around a token can sometimes grow faster than the product itself.
hot take but i already said this about $ZC when everyone was hyping it.
the project was limited by design.
the architecture had a ceiling, the product scope wasn’t comparable to what people were making it out to be, and imo it was always going to struggle the moment the narrative cooled off.
back then i got called biased because i was bullish on $MASK.
fair enough.
but this is exactly why i keep saying: stop blindly aping every “tek” project just because someone wrapped a few zk/privacy buzzwords around it.
learn the architecture.
check what’s actually proprietary.
check the dependencies.
check the limitations.
check whether the product can realistically expand beyond its first use case.
vibecoded tek eventually gets exposed when the market stops rewarding the narrative.
people can call research “bias” when they don’t like the conclusion.
time usually does the arguing for you.
not every privacy project is built the same.
not every “similar” project is actually competition.
do the fucking research.
hot take over.
— heat (@heat) October 22, 2026
Read Also: SEC’s Peirce Calls for a New KYC Approach, Putting Crypto’s Privacy Tools to the Test
Stockereum seeks return of 12.66 ETH
The dispute has also spread to Stockereum.fun. In a public statement, Stockereum said Zipcoin’s team blocked it on X and deleted its Telegram account shortly after Stockereum ended ZC’s 10% fee share. Stockereum said it had no private way to contact the team.
A statement on the ZC team.
The ZC team has decided to shut down their project / token. Shortly after we ended ZC’s 10% fee share, they blocked us on X and deleted their Telegram, so we have no private way to reach them. That is why we are saying this publicly.
Every team has the right to end its project. What we don’t accept is how this was handled.
While ZC held a 10% fee share on Stockereum, its foundation wallet (0x984A7bB0809c0b8809Ca9D8a744fE4564023304b) received 12.66 ETH.
That ETH was paid to support ZC project and its holders. With the project shut down, it no longer serves that purpose.
We are asking the ZC team to return the 12.66 ETH. All of it will go to the teams that are still building on Stockereum.
All transfers are public and anyone can verify them on-chain. We hope the ZC team does the right thing.
@zipcoincash / @0xstanczyk
— Stockereum.fun (@Stockereum) October 22, 2026
Stockereum stated that a foundation wallet linked to Zipcoin received 12.66 ETH while the fee-sharing arrangement was active. It said the funds were intended to support the project and its holders, and it is now asking for the full amount back. Stockereum wants to distribute the funds to teams still building on its platform. It also said the blockchain can be used to verify the transfers. The available statements do not show whether Zipcoin has responded or returned the funds.
The shutdown also upset some token holders. Hajimiluo described the closure as a rug pull and expressed frustration with problems affecting Ethereum projects.
刚刚睡了一会
一醒就看到这玩意，这就是我投资策略中最不想看到的
项目方决定跑路
太离谱了，eth链怎么每个项目都是草台班子啊
就都会出问题
ethereum:0x4e67db19044549ff420860834c91b45bad298722— 五六七 (@hajimiluo) October 22, 2026
Zipcoin’s case shows why investors need to check a project’s code, team claims, funding arrangements and token controls before buying. Security reviews can help, but they cannot remove every risk. The immediate concerns are whether the remaining funds were moved safely, whether the planned sales happened and whether Stockereum receives the ETH it is seeking.
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