ZBCN Delisted from Bithumb Amid Heated Controversies

Zebec (ZBCN), entangled in controversies over unfulfilled rewards and opaque operations, was officially delisted from South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb on April 23. Despite the impending delisting, the company further stirred debate by announcing a partnership with a firm accused of rug-pull schemes.

Last month, Bithumb flagged Zebec as a "designation for investment warning" due to critical undisclosed issues and questionable business sustainability. The exchange later revealed plans to delist ZBCN. Although Zebec filed a provisional injunction to delay the delisting, the court rejected the request, finalizing the termination. Zebec failed to issue clarifications or defend its position, cementing its exit.

Issues with Rewards and Trust Deficit

Bithumb did not provide detailed reasons for the delisting, but industry insiders attribute the decision to issues from late last year when Zebec failed to fulfill promised rewards for its Zepoch nodes. These nodes were sold as NFTs for Zebec's Nautilus Chain network. Zebec had pledged an airdrop of 5 million ZBCN tokens to buyers but failed to deliver, prioritizing NFT sales over operational development, leading to significant investor dissatisfaction.

Concerns heightened when the airdrop's promotional material included the logo of "Eclipse," causing investors to mistakenly assume Eclipse’s official involvement. This sparked anticipation around an impending Token Generation Event (TGE) for Eclipse. However, Zebec gave no clear explanations, deflecting inquiries with vague promises.

Adding to the controversy was the fact that Zebec founder Sam Thapaliya is also a co-founder of Eclipse, prompting criticism from the community. Users voiced outrage, arguing that pursuing new project initiatives while ignoring promised rewards was ethically problematic.

Pre-Delisting Collaboration Announcement Criticized

Just two days before its scheduled delisting, Zebec announced a new collaboration with tokenization platform Whitelock to launch a debit card integrated with Whitelock’s stablecoin USDX. However, Whitelock itself has become a flashpoint for criticism following allegations that its backers include the team behind ZK Casino, a Web3 gambling platform accused of a recent rug-pull incident. ZK Casino has reportedly siphoned off investor funds.

Chaotic Delisting and Exchange Response

While Zebec’s delisting was scheduled for 3:00 PM on April 23, trading continued for about 10 minutes beyond the announced closure time, during which ZBCN’s value rose slightly from 1.099 KRW to 1.115 KRW. Addressing the discrepancy, Bithumb stated, “A time difference between the announcement and the actual termination caused some confusion.” The exchange assured that trading for the token has now concluded and vowed to “improve notification systems to mitigate such confusion in the future.”

Zebec’s rise and fall serve as a cautionary tale for the cryptocurrency market, highlighting the risks of unfulfilled promises, governance issues, and cross-project entanglements that undermine investor confidence.