Amidst suspicions of irregular fund transfers and unexpected protocol upgrades, Chinese law enforcement is investigating the developers behind STFIL, the second-largest decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol on the Filecoin network.
In a recent announcement posted on X (formerly Twitter), STFIL disclosed that key members of its development team are currently under scrutiny by local authorities.
While details regarding the nature of the investigation remain undisclosed, STFIL assured its community that legal representation has been engaged to navigate the situation and provide support to the individuals involved.
The situation escalated further when, during the period of the team’s detention last week, funds held in Filecoin (FIL) on the STFIL platform were transferred to an external address of unknown origin.
Additionally, the protocol experienced unexpected and irregular upgrades, prompting concerns within the community.
The recipient of the transferred funds holds a substantial amount of over 2.5 million FIL, valued at approximately $23.3 million.
In response to these developments, the STFIL team has issued a plea for assistance from the community, urging stakeholders to collaborate in tracking the unknown address and exploring strategies to safeguard the interests of all involved parties.
Established in 2023, STFIL has emerged as a significant player within the Filecoin ecosystem, ranking second only to GLIF in terms of total value locked.
According to data from DefiLlama, STFIL commands an allocation of nearly $40 million in cryptocurrency and introduced Filecoin’s pioneering liquid staking protocol, enabling FIL token holders to generate returns through liquid staking mechanisms.