On February 26, blockchain investigator ZachXBT published the results of its investigation into the Axiom exchange, revealing insider trading activities. ZachXBT shared data obtained from Broox Bauer, senior BD employee at Axiom, revealing that several employees allegedly abused the lack of access controls for internal tools, using them to view sensitive user details in order to trade on that information. It appears that internal transactions were made possible by tracking the activity of private wallets as early as 2025. The crypto industry has been waiting for this investigation since ZachXBT revealed the first information about the planned investigation on February 23rd. His previous post on X sparked market volatility, industry speculation and garnered over 10.5 million views.
NEW: Major investigation dropping February 26 on one of crypto’s most profitable businesses where multiple employees abused internal data to insider trade over a prolonged period of time. pic.twitter.com/Losou2CZ2N
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) February 23, 2026
Here are the key details of the insider trading investigation at Axiom and the stock market's reaction to X.
Essential details of the Axiom investigation
Axiom is a crypto trading platform founded by Mist & Cal in 2024. ZachXBT noted that after the company participated in Y Combinator's Winter 2025 program, it became one of the most profitable companies in the crypto space, generating nearly $390 million in revenue.
Axiom Cumulative Revenue – DeFi Llama Data Y Combinator's Winter 2025 batch, also known as W25, was a startup accelerator program through which selected early-stage companies received funding, mentorship and access to investors. ZachXBT began its investigation into alleged misconduct at Axiom after receiving tip-offs.
An Axiom employee revealed the tracking of users on the platform
He mentioned Axiom New York's current senior BD, Broox, who stated in a recording of a private conversation between group members that he can track everything about any user on the platform by reference code, wallet or UID. Broox started by analyzing 10–20 wallets, gradually increasing the number to avoid suspicion. During the call, he also laid out the rules for how the verifications would be requested, specifying that he would send the full list of wallets. In April and August 2025, Broox shared screenshots of an internal Axiom dashboard that displayed the private wallets of two traders.
ZachXBT via X The screenshot shows the registration wallet and connected user wallets.
ZachXBT via X According to the data, Broox also discussed verifications of Axiom users who were trading a specific meme currency, AURA. Other employees of the stock exchange were also mentioned as allegedly abusing internal data.
KOLs have confirmed the data from the leaked screenshots
ZachXBT also revealed that the group at Axiom compiled lists of several KOL targets in a Google Sheet file, mapping the wallet addresses obtained by Broox through Axiom's internal dashboard. The investigator said several KOLs contacted confirmed the accuracy of the wallet data attributed to them.
ZachXBT via X A KOL, Marcell, was a trader with a poor reputation for using his followers on X and Telegram as exit liquidity. He was targeted after pooling meme coins from private wallets before promoting them to users. ZachXBT pointed out that such KOLs are prime targets for this type of abuse because: Address reuse is rare Private wallets are rarely public
ZachXBT via X
Identification of the primary wallet of the Axiom employee
Broox's main wallet was allegedly identified through messages in a private chat, and all directly related addresses were mapped. These addresses showed a high volume of meme coin transactions. The timing of the transactions suggests access to Axiom's internal logs, and his wallet addresses weren't enough on their own. ZachXBT disclosed the route of the funds, which were transferred to several CEXs, without mentioning which ones.
ZachXBT via X
Employees made profits from insider trading
Broox himself has shared screenshots of his stock balances, suggesting his scheme has generated gains.
ZachXBT via X The crypto investigator also said that on the February 2026 call, Broox shared a plan to help another employee make $200,000 in profit by abusing his access to Axiom. He allegedly carried out such activities with others as early as 2025.
Axiom's final results and official statement
ZachXBT said it independently investigated the alleged misconduct, and these findings represent the conclusions of its research: Insider trading through abuse of internal data Almost nonexistent monitoring and lack of access controls to prevent abuse BD roles could easily access internal data through dashboards, including information about wallets, names, transaction history, and associated accounts He contacted the exchange for comment and recommended that Axiom's founders investigate abuses further and consider legal action against all employees involved. The on-chain investigator also said the case falls under the jurisdiction of the SDNY and should be investigated.
10/ I was retained to independently investigate alleged misconduct at Axiom and these findings are the result of that investigation.
Earlier today I reached out to the Axiom team for comment. Their statement is attached.
Regardless of whether Cal or Mist were aware, there was… pic.twitter.com/uJXJYa45in
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) February 26, 2026
ZachXBT received the same response from Axiom as the message previously published by the exchange on X:
We are shocked and disappointed to hear that someone on our team abused internal customer support tools to look up user wallets.
We have removed access to these tools and will continue to investigate and hold the offending parties responsible.
This does not represent us as a…
— Axiom (@AxiomExchange) February 26, 2026
ZachXBT's previous announcement prompted traders to bet Polymarket on the crypto project to be scrutinized by the blockchain investigator. Among the names that emerged as potential candidates were PumpFun, Meteora, MEXC, World Liberty Financial and Axiom. Looks like Axiom was the «winner». Traders made profits speculating on Polymarket, generating volatility in the crypto market and leading to a cascade of price drops for several projects in the industry. UPDATE: Axiom CEO Mist also addressed the issue on X, explaining that insider access was immediately revoked and the company implemented additional safeguards to prevent this incident from happening again. Mist has clarified that users' wallets have not been compromised and remain secure, promising further investigation into the incident.
As CEO of Axiom, I want to directly address the recent incident.
First, I’m sorry for the concern and uncertainty this situation may have caused. We take trust extremely seriously. To be clear: user wallets — past and present — were not compromised and remain secure. At no point…
— Mist (@mist_trading) February 26, 2026