The Protocol: Blockchain sleuth ZachXBT alleges Axiom employee conducted insider trading

CoinDesk

by Margaux Nijkerk

February 26, 2026

AI-Generated Deep Dive Summary

The cryptocurrency world is abuzz with significant developments this week, ranging from insider trading allegations to ambitious blockchain roadmaps. Blockchain sleuth ZachXBT has accused a senior employee at Axiom Exchange of misusing internal tools to track user data and potentially engage in insider trading. According to claims made by ZachXBT on X, Broox Bauer, a New York-based business development employee at Axiom, allegedly used internal dashboards to access sensitive user information, including wallet addresses, to map trades involving prominent crypto influencers. This alleged misuse of power raises concerns about data security and the potential for insider activity in the cryptocurrency space. Meanwhile, the Ethereum Foundation has unveiled its most comprehensive roadmap in years, titled the "strawmap." The plan outlines seven hard forks through 2029, aiming to achieve key goals such as faster transaction finality (targeting seconds), increased Layer-1 throughput ("gigagas" scale), and enhanced privacy with shielded ETH transfers. This ambitious roadmap signals Ethereum's commitment to addressing scalability challenges and preparing for future technological advancements, including post-quantum cryptography. In other news, Robinhood's blockchain initiative has seen strong early performance. The Robinhood Chain testnet logged 4 million transactions in its first week, showcasing the potential of centralized exchanges building their own blockchain infrastructure. This move highlights the broader debate within the crypto community about the future of Layer-1 and Layer-2 solutions, with Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently expressing skepticism about rollup-centric approaches. Additionally, OpenAI has entered the blockchain space with its "EVMbench" project, designed to test whether AI can help secure smart contracts. This initiative aims to verify the safety and reliability of crypto assets by leveraging AI for contract verification, raising intriguing possibilities for DeFi security and efficiency. These developments underscore the

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Originally published on CoinDesk on 2/26/2026