NFT

Pixel Vault Removes CEO Following Self-Dealing and Rug Pull Accusations

Published

2 months ago

August 1, 2025

Non-fungable token (NFT) Firm Pixel Vault has been attacked due to its involvement in what appears to be a roughly $ 3.5 million carpet pulling schedule by which the founder and former CEO are concerned. Within the final flip of occasions, the corporate introduced on Wednesday that the Sean Gearin, often known as Gfunk, faraway from its place as CEO. The mission has not offered any particulars concerning the alleged rug, however acknowledged that the ‘actions of the now ex-CEO’ actions are being assessed ‘.

Gfunk has been accused by a number of NFT group commissioners and former companions on X of deceptive buyers for private revenue. Specifically, Gfunk has inspired buyers to rotate the punks – token of the ecosystem – that represents fractionated possession within the cryptopunks assortment of Pixel Vault – in a brand new token, re -synchronized GG. The capital rotation befell between when GG was launched in December 2023, and till the time of the public sale of the Cryptopunks assortment of the corporate in 2025. GG is the official signal of rebootgg, underneath the Pixel Vault Ecosystem Parbellella.

On the similar time, GFUNK is claimed to have collected giant quantities of punks, simply in time for the Cryptopunks Vault of the corporate to be auctioned for 930 ETH, or $ 3.4 million, on 5 June, on account of which Gfunk is personally personally left with a considerable quantity of the proceeds.

Cryptopunks Valuation Software Punkpredictor claimed that the public sale celebration was nearer to 950 ETH on the time.

READ Crypto Startups Should Be Allowed to Raise Money With NFTs, Says SEC Leadership

Cryptopunks public sale ranking. Supply: Punkpredictor

Group Response

One NFT collector, referred to as Rodo, put the previous CEO within the weekend in an X -post and mentioned: “Gfunk pulled probably the most flagging carpets I noticed shortly.”

Rodo continued to listing their allegations towards Gfunk, together with the CEO ‘a whole lot of hundreds of thousands with Pixelvault’, customers had been concerned in shifting funds from punks to GG, and that he ‘silently the punks protected auctioned[.]”However, Rodo observed, buyers observed it.

When spectators gfunk known as for what appeared to be with the protected public sale, Rodo claims that the CEO of Pixel Vault promised that “yields might be used to construct the ecosystem”, earlier than they proceed to shut operations, they declare to shut, declare to be hacked and getting darkish on social media.

The newest X -post from Gfunk is from 22 June.

Different NFT OGs have shortly been to the general public disgrace. Beanie, one other nameless however exceptional collector, had been concerned with Pixel Vault earlier than an viewers cried with Gfunk, which led to the crew eliminated him from operations.

Beanie not solely known as Gfunk, but in addition NFT Lending Platform Gondi, for participation within the scheme. In a publish on July 28, he accused the NFT platform of making a non-public punk mortgage previous to the Vault public sale. Beanie claimed:

“It was executed, in order that Gfunk (a Gondi advisor) may borrow ETH towards Punks -Tokens. The used collateral included tokens of the Punks stakes contract. This allowed Gfunk to get the bid.”

Beanie’s assertion implies that Gfunk not solely misled buyers to generate profits with the sale of the public sale, but in addition used his advisory function to extend the public sale itself.

READ This is why Bitcoin is still in the midst of a bull market, according to CryptoQuant's CEO

It’s value noting that Pixel Vault was publicly supplied on the gathering on the market worth of the public sale slot, which may indicate honest play and clear practices within the bidding technique of the public sale.

Pixel Vault is understood for creating the Punks Comics Ecosystem, and the mission has collected $ 100 million for the event of NFT infrastructure in 2022, along with funds which are made up of its a number of collections.

In the course of the NFT Bull Run in 2021 NFTS within the Pixel Vault Metahero Assortment-the Profile Image NFT (PFP) assortment of the ecosystem-on that second on greater than 10 ETH per NFT or $ 40,000. At present, the gathering of hand is altering for barely lower than 0.03 ETH, or round $ 107.