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BNB Chain says it is pursuing legal action against a former employee who allegedly retained access to a seed phrase from a company tutorial wallet and later used the address to launch the ASTEROID memecoin.
The organization said it did not create, authorize or promote the token. It is cooperating with authorities but has not named the former employee, the agencies involved or the jurisdiction where proceedings may be brought.
Former Employee Allegedly Retained Access to Tutorial Wallet
The wallet was created for a video explaining how to issue a token on BNB Chain. The employee used it during production of the educational material and later left the organization.
BNB Chain alleges that the former employee retained unauthorized access to the wallet’s recovery phrase. A recovery phrase can be used to regenerate private keys even if the original key has been removed from company systems.
The organization said the same address was later used independently for activity involving ASTEROID. It has not disclosed when the employee left, when it discovered the retained access or whether other tutorial wallets are being reviewed.
Four Wallets Acquired 79.67% of ASTEROID Supply
On-chain tracker Lookonchain linked four newly created wallets to the token launch. The wallets spent about $10,000 to acquire 796.7 million ASTEROID tokens, equal to 79.67% of the reported one billion-token supply.
They later sold 718.8 million tokens for 1,103 BNB, valued at about $638,000 at the time. Lookonchain estimated that the transactions produced roughly $628,000 in profit after the initial purchases.
Blockchain records can establish transactions and links between addresses, but they do not independently prove who controlled the wallets. The connection to the former employee remains an allegation based on BNB Chain’s statement and Lookonchain’s analysis.
No Legal Filing or Asset Recovery Has Been Disclosed
BNB Chain said it is working with government authorities and intends to pursue accountability. It has not published a court complaint, case number, jurisdiction, or details of the remedies it may seek.
The organization has also not announced whether any of the 1,103 BNB in reported proceeds has been frozen or recovered.
ASTEROID remains unaffiliated with BNB Chain, and the allegations against the former employee have not been tested in court.
