1/ gm. gm. Name is Hsin-Ju. I have a dark, kinda tragic personal announcement. I've decided I'd rather take $0 than accept a settlement that requires me to stay silent about what happened to me. I have since fired my lawyers at @sanfordheisler & will be releasing all the evidence from my time @hack_vc on Wed 8/26. INTRO: I've been in crypto for 9 years. Most recently I was a partner & head of platform @hack_vc which is a $600-700M crypto VC firm. Many of you may know me from my time as Head of Growth at @StellarOrg in 2017 (worked w/ the Mt. Gox founder), @Solana in 2018 (joined under ~10 ppl, but quit before my cliff), & @Fhenix in 2024. Or have attended one of my @DystopiaLabs ETH events (2019-now). Last year, I was forced to work through a serious medical emergency while at @Hack_VC due to threats by @alpackaP @dbulaevsky, saying that they would blacklist me from the space if I quit before finishing the hacksummit conference & side events that I was helping with during @kbwofficial. I was working 13-14hr days, 6 days a week, sleeping 0-4 hrs a night, and had documented Graves' disease, hyperthyroidism, and severe insomnia. I repeatedly asked to quit. Hack VC refused. This + other threats and intimidation went on for almost a month. The conditions got so bad I attempted suicide. The fucked up part is that, even after the suicide attempt, I told everyone at Hack VC (in writing) that I had no plans to sue. I was scared & extremely sick. I just wanted to leave. I told them that as long as there was no retaliation or badmouthing - I had no plans to sue. @Hack_VC chose to retaliate. After just 1 month after my near suicide, Hack VC mishandled my COBRA health insurance, refused to fix things, kept shooing me to customer support (when it's legally Hack VC's responsibility to fix this), and my insurance had issues and was not fixed for almost 4 MONTHS. Hack VC did not fix everything until I hired lawyers and had them force Hack VC to adhere to the law & fix my COBRA insurance issues. The sheer cruelty of an employer harming someone's health insurance almost immediately after they nearly committed suicide is extremely fucked up. And, even during the legal engagement, Hack VC continued to lie & attempt to harm me through their lawyers and other employees/partners (multi-million dollar carry & clawbacks can make even the nicest ppl willing to turn the other way or lie). @0xRodney @IsTheBaron @roshunpatel @Alex__Botte. Now. Almost an entire year of engagement & my near suicide anniversary coming up, our lawyers (mine & Hack VC's) have reached the point of preparing for private mediation and settlement. And...I realized that I just can't do it. I don't want money in exchange for silence. I'd rather speak. I fired my lawyers yesterday. In case it needs to be said, I did a good job at Hack VC. I was only there full time for 7 months; been part-time since 2021. I got a $50k raise to $300k, $30k bonus, and promises of additional carry that would have been implemented about a week or so after my last day. I was also offered admission into the GP entity (but not sure if admission was actually completed bc it was during my medical emergency). This + my resume, should show that me suing is not a money grab; I was genuinely harmed. I'm aware that I'm just one person (who is not rich) facing a $600-700M VC institution. I've been told by @alpackaP that he's known most of the managing partners at most VC firms for almost a decade and he could absolutely blacklist me. I'm also painful aware that the conclusion of this will probably be extremely poor for me or death - but I've accepted it. Sharing with other web2 & web3 VCs: @paulg @ycombinator @500STARTUPS @a16zcrypto @PanteraCapital @dragonflyvc @RaceCapital @hosseeb @haunventures @hiFramework @ElectricCapital @blockchaincap @Delphi_Digital @variantfund @1kxnetwork @archetypevc @shimacapital @robotventures, etc. TLDR; I’m done with continued threats, pressure, and intimidation. I'm not going to take a payout and allow Alex or Hack VC to walk away from harming me. As mentioned, I'll be dropping the evidence from my case on Wed 8/26 (or before) -- privacy be damned. Support here (or DM) please: ETH: 0x68c10776C5c05Cbf5B4C2318bE02D61B9f06B875 SOL: B7S8TPcWWJXTsmgG8ShoTmy8sNPuJ3Dbmt7z5gLFAveq

I had a major shift in my worldview recently. The first topic I want to unpack: transparency vs. privacy. I’ve been in crypto 8 years, helped 2 privacy projects (@EspressoSys when it was a ZK L1, @fhenix back when it was an FHE L2 on ETH) and put on a number of privacy & encryption focused events. I supported privacy, but TBH, I only understood it in a “cute,” abstract, and intellectual way. I grew up middle class in the US (yes I'm a citizen). I’ve always operated under the assumption that most people in the world (US + abroad) are good / kind and just want to do right by their loved ones. As long as you don’t give anyone an incentive to harm you, most people will leave you alone (or even help you if they like your vibe). I’ve been to 22+ countries solo, hung out with everyone from fish farmers to billionaires to government officials — never once had a bad interaction with anyone. I was never harmed. Never saw or was exposed to any bad behavior. I naively thought the horror stories we hear about in the news were outliers & rare exceptions. No system is perfect. Bad actors do exist. And bad things do happen to good ppl. But even then, I still operated under the belief that most ppl in the world were good/ kind. I thought in bad situations, someone would step up and do the right thing when it really mattered. I was wrong. What I didn’t realize: - Transparent systems can be weaponized. - Bad actors can hijack even government compliance tools to monitor, threaten, and force obedience. - When every conversation and transaction is tracked, how do you fund defense or even ask for help? - When people in power are willing to risk everything to win, where do you go? I always thought: I’ve never broken the law, I have nothing to hide. Now I realize privacy isn’t just for people with “something to hide” — it’s for the vulnerable. It’s the only way for ppl who are in need to get help without being punished for it. And here’s the other hard truth: most people are “good,” but strong enough incentives will make them look the other way & even support bad actors. Very few will walk away from money or put themselves at risk for what’s right. That’s why bad actors win. Me? I have an abundance mindset. There are infinite ways to make money. Infinite ways to lead a good life. I’ll never compromise my values — why waste years of my life and reputation chasing something misaligned? There are opportunities everywhere. Takeaway: - Privacy matters because the world has far more vulnerable people — and far more abuses of power — than I ever realized. - Transparency still matters too. It keeps a spotlight on bad actors. - Compliance tools? Necessary at times, but too easily abused. No perfect solution, but the tension between privacy and transparency deserves way more attention. Shout-out to @charleslu1 @benafisch @benediktbuenz @jillgun @m_mosier_ @guyitz @GuyZys @clairekart @Zac_Aztec @zooko @jswihart @PrivacyEthereum @web3privacy @privacyguardia @VitalikButerin @ameensol @RAILGUN_Project for advancing encryption and driving the privacy space forward. I'm sure there are a gazillion other ppl to thank as well, but starting here. I don't know all of you personally, but just wanted to say thanks. I didn't understand privacy before, but I'm starting to.