CZ-Backed Apriori Airdrop Under Fire as Wallets Made in Secret Claim 80% of Tokens

Apriori, a trading infrastructure startup backed by Binance founder Changpeng Zhao’s venture arm, is under scrutiny after blockchain data showed thousands of newly created wallets secretly claiming most of their token airdrop.

On October 23, Apriori distributed its APR token across Ethereum and BNB Chain as part of a “Genesis Airdrop” meant to reward early contributors, testnet users, and NFT holders from partner communities like MadLads and Moonbirds.

However, the blockchain analysis reviewed by researchers shows that approximately 80% of the tokens on BNB Chain were claimed by more than 5,800 wallets linked to a single clustered group.

The pattern suggests an organized Sybil attack, a tactic in which airdrop hunters stake thousands of wallets to claim rewards multiple times.

Inside job or coincidence? Portfolio patterns cast doubt on Apriori’s honesty in the Airdrop

According to According to On-chain data, the cluster of wallets was created and funded days before Apriori publicly announced that its token would be claimable on BNB Chain, raising questions about whether insider information may have been used.

Between October 19 and 20, these wallets were each funded with small amounts of BNB from just 13 addresses, enough to conduct airdrop claim transactions.

Those 13 wallets, which channeled the money, remain unidentified. Analysts who rated The data shows that the activity occurred before the eligibility criteria were published on October 22, indicating prior knowledge of the network and the timing of the airdrop.

Further analysis of the top 200 APR holders revealed that almost all of them were newly created between October 5 and 6, had no meaningful trading history, and engaged in little to no on-chain activities other than receiving the token.

Only three wallets among the top holders appeared to be owned by real users with previous transactions and NFT activity. The rest showed almost identical trading behavior and transaction patterns, indicating automated control or coordination.

Apriori and its founder, Ray Song, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Apriori’s investors include YZi Labs (formerly Binance Labs), HashKey Capital, Pantera Capital and Primitive Ventures.

The startup, developed by former engineers from Jump Trading, Coinbase and Citadel Securities, has raised $30 million to build an ‘execution layer’ for on-chain crypto markets, using high-frequency trading strategies to improve efficiency and reduce the effects of maximizing extractable value.

The APR token, which debuted with a market cap of $93 million, has fallen more than 60% since its all-time high of $0.7396 on launch day, according to CoinGecko data. As of publication, the token is trading at less than half of its debut value.

Apriori Airdrop Scandal is added to the growing list of Sybil attacks

The episode has raised questions about whether the airdrop was compromised internally or manipulated by inside information.

Critics within the Monad community, where Apriori was initially expected to launch its token, have expressed frustration, accusing the project of betraying its supporters and betraying trust ahead of Monad’s expected mainnet debut.

The incident reflects a growing list of Sybil-style airdrop scandals in the crypto sector.

In September, decentralized exchange MYX Finance faced similar accusations when 100 wallets allegedly linked to the team claimed $170 million worth of MYX tokens.

Last year, zkSync and Solana-based Io.net suffered large-scale Sybil exploits, where attackers used automated wallets and fake GPU reports to claim millions in rewards.

LayerZero Labs also blacklisted hundreds of thousands of suspected Sybil addresses last year in an effort to protect token distribution.

Such tactics remain difficult to detect and prevent. Analysts warn that such Sybil attacks have become a recurring problem in the industry, eroding trust in token distribution events.

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