In depth: Zebec Network

A comprehensive analysis of the Zebec Network project to identify any potentially suspicious elements.

The investigation took place between July 10, 2025, and July XX, 2025.

This report is the result of independent research and in-depth on-chain analysis. It does not classify or label any token or project as a scam or as legitimate. Our goal is to present verifiable data and blockchain insights in a clear, accessible format. Readers are encouraged to critically assess the information provided and form their own conclusions.

Nothing in this report should be interpreted as financial or investment advice. All findings reflect the state of the blockchain and publicly available information at the time of publication. Given the fast-moving nature of the crypto industry, readers should verify whether circumstances have changed before making any decisions based on this analysis.

We received numerous requests to investigate the Zebec Network project, with several individuals expressing concerns about its legitimacy and the growing amount of FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) surrounding it. In response, we conducted a comprehensive deep dive to assess whether these claims have any factual basis.

Zebec is not a new project, so there was substantial data to analyze, both on-chain and off-chain. As a result, this report may be detailed and lengthy. We aim to deliver a thorough, transparent, well-documented analysis, ensuring all findings are clearly explained and verifiable.

We invite you to explore the report and evaluate the evidence for yourself.

TLDR;

TODO: at the end write a summary of the main findings

  • Key findings in brief

  • Explain why it matters: e.g., investor risks, potential manipulation, regulatory concerns

About the project

Zebec Network is a decentralized infrastructure platform designed to enable real-time, seamless movement of funds and tokens, empowering users with instant financial access and control.

Zebec is solving the problem of slow, delayed payments by letting people get paid in real time, every second, instead of waiting days or weeks. Instead of paying someone all at once (like a salary every 2 weeks), you can stream small amounts of money every second.

More about the project can be found in the official docs:

About from project (from the official docs).

Here are Zebec Network’s official websites and social media channels:

Zebec Protocol, originally launched on the Solana network in 2021, is the first programmable cash flow protocol built on the platform. To help contextualize the analysis in the following sections, here is a brief timeline highlighting key milestones in the project’s development:

  • November 10, 2021: Zebec Protocol officially launches on the Solana mainnet.

  • March 3, 2022: The ZBC token, a Solana SPL token with a total supply of 10 billion, was announced and minted on March 15, 2022.

  • April 9 – May 10, 2024: The project rebrands from Zebec Protocol to Zebec Network and completes a token migration from ZBC to ZBCN, including a 1:10 token split and the burn of the old ZBC tokens.

This timeline provides a foundation for understanding the evolution and current structure of the Zebec Network.

The core products offered by Zebec are:

  • Zebec Cards: A crypto-to-fiat Mastercard debit card. It lets users instantly spend streamed or wallet-held crypto in real life.

  • RWA Payments: Allows users and businesses to send crypto payments continuously by the second.

  • DePIN: ZePIN-powered PoS systems accept crypto payments and are seamlessly integrated with Zebec’s infrastructure and next-gen payroll technology.

  • Zebec Vaults: Is a secure, multi-signature, smart contract-powered financial management tool that enables individuals and Web3 businesses to manage funds and automate payments.

This overview summarizes the key information provided by Zebec’s official resources. Next, we will conduct a deeper investigation into various aspects of the project to identify any suspicious activity or potential red flags.

Company Background & Legal Overview

Overview of team & funding history

The project initially issued a token ZBC, raising about $28 million from private and public sales (backed by notable investors like Solana Ventures, Coinbase, Circle, and Lightspeed)

Circle Ventures, Shima, and Resolute. Earlier this year, the protocol successfully raised $28M USD through its token sale from private and public investors.

  • Who are the VCs?

  • Timing of fundraises vs token unlocks vs market events

  • Any overlaps with wallets dumping large quantities of tokens?

March 16, 2022

February 23, 2022

  • Series A funding round raises $15 million at a valuation of $150 million.

August 27, 2022

  • $9 million fundraising round led to a $1 billion valuation. SoSoValue

May 24, 2023

  • Mainnet launch of Nautilus Chain (later renamed “Zebec Chain”), Zebec’s modular Layer‑3 network.

  • The revenue of Zebec is forecasted to reach $20M by the end of 2022 with a $6M net profit. Earlier this year, Zebec partnered with Visa, joining their Fintech Fast Track Program. This partnership is one of the key reasons behind the protocol’s promising growth rate. It is the first Solana project to be admitted to the Visa program. Soon, Zebec will launch custom debit cards, allowing users to seamlessly convert their real-time liquidity to FIAT currency. The Zebec user base is expected to reach 2 million by 2024. The Solana-powered protocol also plans to start a stablecoin once the revenue reaches $1 trillion USD.

  • https://bitcoinist.com/money-streaming-protocol-zebec-raises-an-additional-8-5m/#:~:text=Zebec%2C%20the%20first%20programmable%20cash,from%20private%20and%20public%20investors

  • The Zebec Token sale yielded $21 million from private sales and $7 million from public sales. Some of the most notable private investors from the token sale round include Solana, Coinbase, Circle, and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

Legal & Regulatory Clarity

  • Any known SEC/FINRA inquiries?

  • Jurisdiction of Zebec Labs and affiliated entities

  • How are they marketing the token — as a utility or investment?

Third Parties

  • Who are the market makers, launchpads, PR firms?

  • Are any involved in past token-dumping scandals (like Web3Port)?

Founder Background and Controversies

  • Sam Thapaliya, the founder and CEO of Zebec, has become a controversial figure due to his alleged involvement in multiple questionable schemes.

  • Zebec Protocol and scam founder Sam Thapaliya and Simon Babakhani- both Con artist Fraudsters using investors money to fund their lifestyle.

  • Change the contract many times Not burning ZBC from April as promised (Buyback program but they did not burn.) Build a new blockchain but don't raise more money (which means they have to sell the old $ZBC token) Revenue from selling Nodes is fake: they sell $ZBC and buy fake Nodes Voting rate from DAO is always >99% (they use their own tokens to vote) Their social channels (Telegram Coinmarketccap/ Coingecko/Twitter) are almost bots, they even impersonate users to chat on Telegram.

  • https://www.coingabbar.com/en/crypto-currency-news/sam-thapaliya-founder-of-zebec-implicated-in-market-manipulation-scandal-with-galen-law-kun

  • Movement Labs “MOVE” Token Scandal

  • Past Project (“Zepoch”) and Plagiarism Accusations

  • They are scammers, con artist using investors money to find their lifestyle of luxury

Movement Labs “MOVE” Token Scandal

Here's a simple summary of the Movement Labs token-dumping scandal:

  • Movement Labs, a crypto startup backed by Trump's World Liberty Financial, is in trouble after a major selloff of its MOVE token right after launch.

  • The company gave 66 million MOVE tokens (worth $38 million) to a mysterious firm called Rentech, thinking it was part of a market-making deal with a legit company, Web3Port.

  • It turns out Rentech was on both sides of the deal — supposedly working for both Movement and Web3Port — which allowed it to manipulate the price and dump tokens on the public.

  • Internal documents show that Movement’s own team warned against the deal, calling it “possibly the worst agreement” they'd ever seen.

  • Despite warnings, Movement signed a revised deal, and Web3Port quickly sold off the tokens, crashing the price and getting banned by Binance for misconduct.

  • There's now infighting within Movement over who approved the deal. Co-founder Rushi Manche, his adviser Sam Thapaliya, and Rentech’s owner Galen Law-Kun are all under scrutiny.

  • Movement now claims it was misled and is investigating, calling itself a “victim.”

Bottom line: Movement Labs handed control of a huge amount of its token to a shady middleman, who likely manipulated the market and dumped the tokens — and now the company is facing backlash, bans, and a full investigation.

Socials

  • Social Media Manipulation

  • Telegram, Discord, X (Twitter) — sentiment, manipulation, bans?

  • Are complaints about rug pulls or vaporware common?

  • There are widespread claims that Sam and his team engage in astroturfing and censorship to protect Zebec’s reputation. Reports suggest that negative posts about Sam on Twitter/X get swarmed by bots – for example, one user noted a critical post receiving 2,000 “likes” but only 4 retweets, an unusual ratio implying fake engagement meant to bury the contentcoingabbar.com. In Zebec’s official Telegram, users have complained that many accounts praising the project appear to be bots or even admins posing as community membersreddit.com. This kind of behavior is a red flag, as it indicates an attempt to suppress criticism and fabricate a false image of support.

  • LOL is this a joke?" The Solana-powered protocol also plans to start a stablecoin once the revenue reaches $1 trillion USD." Even Apple, the world's largest company, only makes 1/3 of that.

Nautilus Chain

Nautilus Chain launched with real technical substance in mid-2023, but by 2024 it had faded:

  • It no longer operates visibly under Zebec’s control, now under 3Base.

  • There’s no active token or trading, meaning the ecosystem is dormant.

  • The innovation achieved is still valuable, but there is no ongoing activity, traffic, or updates — suggesting it's largely inactive now.

If you're evaluating whether Nautilus Chain is still an active, standalone project from Zebec, the answer is no. It exists, but shows no signs of active development or token lifecycle.

Launch of a Private Blockchain (Nautilus) and Node Sales: Zebec has been developing Nautilus Chain, a SolanaVM blockchain in its ecosystemmedium.com. Notably, Zebec did not raise new capital publicly for this venture; observers believe they funded it by selling more of the existing ZBC tokens (putting sell pressure on the market). Community members allege that Zebec touted “node” sales for Nautilus – implying people could buy validator nodes – but that this revenue was effectively circular. According to one accusation, Zebec would “sell $ZBC and buy fake Nodes,” essentially moving money from one pocket to another to claim business successreddit.com. We cannot fully verify this on-chain, but the opaqueness of Nautilus’s financing and the lack of external funding rounds raise questions. If true, it means Zebec was selling its tokens to itself or associates to create an illusion of revenue, which is deceptive.

Partnerships

StellarOrg partenrship?

Unconfirmed “Partnership” with Ripple: In mid-2025, Zebec’s team created huge buzz by hinting at a collaboration with Ripple (the company behind XRP). They ran an “exclusive rewards” campaign targeting XRP holders on the Uphold exchange, even explicitly saying “from Zebec’s ecosystem to XRP holders – with love”beincrypto.com. This promotion, combined with rumors (sparked by Zebec insiders) of an upcoming Ripple partnership, sent ZBCN’s price soaring nearly 300% in a monthbeincrypto.com. However, to date Ripple has not confirmed any partnership, and the rumored collaboration appears to have been exaggerated or prematurebeincrypto.com. A Zebec executive eventually admitted there were only “ongoing discussions” with Ripple – no formal dealainvest.comainvest.com. In other words, Zebec hyped a potential partnership as if it were real, boosting their token price on speculation. Once this hype cooled, ZBCN promptly plunged ~37% off its highbeincrypto.com, trapping late buyers. This pattern (hype-fueled pump followed by dump) is a classic red flag.

Other Big-Name Claims: The Ripple episode is not isolated. Zebec has repeatedly announced or insinuated links with top-tier companies:

  • In May 2025, Zebec put out news of “major partnerships with Circle, Chainlink, and Ripple,” coinciding with a 150% token price spikebitget.com. It’s true Circle (issuer of USDC) and others had earlier invested in Zebec, but some suspect Zebec was repackaging basic integrations or old relationships as new partnerships to buoy market sentiment.

  • Zebec’s COO, Simon Babakhani, even mentioned “working closely with Stellar” (another payment blockchain) during a public Twitter Space, again without concrete detailslinkedin.com.

  • The company also touts being in Visa’s fintech program and integrating with Mastercard for their debit card – those are real programs, but standard for many startupsbitcoinist.commedium.com. The concern is that Zebec portrays routine business development as groundbreaking alliances, feeding a narrative that “everyone from Visa to Ripple is on board.” In reality, some of these relationships are tenuous, and none of the named blue-chip partners have made public statements endorsing Zebec’s token or its conduct.

Misleading marketing and Hype Tactics

Zebec Network has been repeatedly accused of misleading marketing – hyping up partnerships or financial plans that either never materialize or sound implausible:

Unrealistic Promises (the $1 Trillion Stablecoin): Perhaps the most eyebrow-raising claim was in a 2022 press release: Zebec stated it “plans to start a stablecoin once revenue reaches $1 trillion USD.”bitcoinist.com. For perspective, $1 trillion in revenue is an almost absurd target (only a handful of the world’s largest companies have ever approached that scale, and Apple’s annual revenue is barely one-third of a trillion). Announcing a hypothetical stablecoin at such a fantastical milestone struck many as a huge red flag – signaling either a lack of seriousness or a tactic to lure investors with grand visions that have no grounding in realityreddit.com. Community members openly mocked this, with one noting that “even Apple…only makes 1/3 of that” and calling the plan a jokereddit.com.

In summary, Zebec’s marketing strategy has leaned on bold, sometimes dubious claims of partnerships and future plans. This has temporarily pumped the token, but each time the lack of follow-through becomes apparent, confidence erodes further. Such behavior – essentially “announcement hype” without substance – is often associated with scam projects.

ZBC token and ZBCN migration

  • The team claimed this was to better represent an expanded product portfolio and infrastructure, including launching their own blockchain (Nautilus Chain) and a crypto debit card program.

ZBCN: Tokenomics and On-Chain Review

Token function:

1. Zebec holders can vote on all aspects related to the management and administration of the Zebecl protocol through governance voting

2. Staking allows ZBC token holders to use Zebec products for free

3. Allow ZBC token holders to list tokens on Zebec debit card

4. Token holders can enjoy dividends and other rights in the Zebec ecosystem.

- Holders growing analysis

Tokenomics and Distribution

  • Token name, symbol, total supply

  • Initial allocation breakdown (team, investors, community, treasury)

  • Vesting schedules and lock-ups (if any)

  • Check wallets of founders, VCs, and partners for activity

    • Use tools: Etherscan, Solscan (Zebec is on Solana), DeBank, Nansen

  • Token migration

  • Token allocation & vesting

  • Notable wallet activity

  • Liquidity & trading behavior

  • Suspicious flows (include diagrams if possible)

  • Top holders investigation

Token Flows

  • Analyze token movements:

    • From treasury to exchanges or wallets

    • From team/investor wallets to other addresses or CEX wallets

  • Look for unusual or clustered selloffs

  • Use wallet labeling tools to trace relationships

Smart Contracts

  • Audit results: Has Zebec’s code been independently audited?

  • Functions related to:

    • Vesting

    • Escrow

    • Streaming payments (their core use case)

  • Any admin/backdoor functions or upgradeability?

DEX/CEX Liquidity & Trading Patterns

  • Who provided initial liquidity?

  • Are there signs of wash trading or manipulated volume?

  • Unusual spikes in volume tied to announcements or unlocks?

Several aspects of Zebec’s token management and on-chain activity have alarmed observers:

  • Frequent Contract Changes & Rebranding: Transparency suffers when a project repeatedly changes its token or contract. Zebec not only migrated from ZBC to ZBCN in 2024finbold.com, but community members note they “changed the contract many times” even before thatreddit.com. Each change can obscure the trail of token distribution and make it harder to track insider holdings. The April 2024 rebrand to ZBCN (with a 1:10 token split) came on the heels of mounting criticism and even talk of a company name change to escape bad pressreddit.com. While the team claimed the migration was harmless and kept tokenomics the samefinbold.com, skeptics see the rebrand as a way to “make it look like [a] whole new coin” and distance from past issuesreddit.com. High-frequency contract swaps are generally unusual for legitimate projects.

  • Unfulfilled Buyback/Burn Promises: Zebec had previously assured its community that a portion of revenues would buy back and burn tokens (a common value-support mechanism). In fact, the team did initiate buybacks in 2023 – by their account, they “reacquired ~300M ZBC” from the marketmedium.commedium.com. However, only 1.2 million tokens were actually burned before Zebec reversed coursemedium.com. In January 2024, a governance proposal (which passed with 90% approval) pivoted away from burns to instead use revenue for “platform growth.”medium.com This abrupt change left many holders feeling misled, as a promised deflationary policy was scrapped. Critics argue the on-chain voting was effectively controlled by the team/insiders – note that Zebec’s DAO votes often show >90% or even ~99% supportreddit.com, suggesting the team’s own large token stake dictates outcomes. One user flatly stated “they use their own tokens to vote”, calling the DAO a shamreddit.com. The failure to execute burns (despite earlier announcements) is seen as another broken promise.

  • Token Distribution & Dumping Concerns: As a Solana SPL token, ZBCN’s supply and holders can be tracked on-chain. The top holders include team-controlled wallets (the token mint authority is a Zebec-controlled address)solscan.io, and private investors from the 2022 sale. While exact dumping patterns are hard to ascribe without forensic analysis, anecdotal evidence suggests large token transfers to exchanges around hype events. The Movement Labs scandal reinforces this concern – Sam’s partner set up a market maker to unload tens of millions of tokens on retailcoingabbar.com. Likewise, critics suspect Zebec insiders have sold into pumps like the Ripple-fueled rally. In fact, Binance’s security team reportedly began investigating Sam Thapaliya for “fraud and dumping on retailers,” according to one warning postbinance.com【0†L11-L14**. (That claim appeared on social media, so it should be taken with caution, but it aligns with the overall pattern of behavior.) The bottom line is that trust in the team’s handling of tokens is very low – many believe insiders enrich themselves at the expense of the community.

  • Opaque Operations and Exchange Delisting: Lack of transparency in Zebec’s operations came to a head in early 2025 when Bithumb (a major Korean exchange) decided to delist ZBCN. This was a serious blow, given Korea had been a big market for Zebec (ZBC was once the second-highest traded token on Bithumb)medium.com. Although Zebec’s team filed a legal challenge to block the delisting – emphasizing their “compliance” and commitment to Korean userscoinness.combitcoinworld.co.in – the effort failed (a Korean court dismissed Zebec’s injunction in June 2025)bloomingbit.io. Bithumb did not publicly enumerate all reasons, but Korean news outlets reported that ZBCN was plagued by “unfulfilled rewards and opaque operations,” which undermined trusteblockmedia.com. In other words, promises made to the community weren’t kept and the project’s internal dealings were not transparent. Being kicked off a reputable exchange for such reasons is a glaring red flag. (Zebec tried to spin this as an arbitrary or unfair decisionbitcoinworld.co.inbitcoinworld.co.in, but objectively, delistings usually happen when an exchange perceives a token as too risky or the project as problematic.)

Red Flags Analysis

Given the above points, it’s no surprise that many investors and community members have labeled Zebec a scam outright. On Reddit and other forums, users have shared what they see as a pattern of fraud:

  • Misuse of Funds: Commenters claim “They are scammers… using investors’ money to fund their lifestyle of luxury.”reddit.com Photos of lavish spending haven’t been publicly shown, but the sentiment reflects a belief that Sam Thapaliya and COO Simon Babakhani prioritize personal gain over product development. Indeed, both Sam and Simon are frequently mentioned together as “professional con artists” in user discussionsreddit.com. This perception is fueled by the string of fundraises and token sales versus the under-delivery on promises (e.g. lofty goals like $1T revenue, a “guaranteed returns” vibe in marketing, etc.)reddit.com.

  • Bold Claims vs. Reality: Community members compile lists of “signs of a scam project” in Zebec’s case, which include:

    • Changing token contracts repeatedlyreddit.com

    • Failing to execute token burns or buybacks that were promisedreddit.com

    • Initiating big projects (like launching a whole blockchain) without new funding – implying they’d “have to sell the old $ZBC token” to finance itreddit.com

    • Potentially faking usage metrics (selling tokens to themselves as noted with node sales)reddit.com

    • Manipulating governance (DAO proposals passing with >99% yes, likely due to team-held tokens)reddit.com

    • Botting social channels (inauthentic community activity on Telegram, Twitter, CoinMarketCap, etc.)reddit.com.

    These points, raised by multiple independent users, show a consistent picture of a project that creates an illusion of traction and community approval, while insiders call the shots and extract value.

  • Investor Sentiment and Warnings: Some early investors and advisors have publicly turned against Zebec. Besides Mike Dudas (who very bluntly called out Sam’s ethicscoingabbar.com), we saw Hyperlane’s team (a bridge provider) and others on X warning that “Sam Thapaliya should not get away with another one.”coingabbar.com Even Zebec’s own strategic partner in the Movement saga, Galen Law-Kun, has faced backlash – a lawyer mentioned in the MOVE deal publicly said he was “disturbed” by the misleading claims made by Law-Kuncoingabbar.com. Within Solana circles, Zebec has become something of a cautionary tale; for example, on the Solana subreddit one user quipped that crypto is “full of [scams] lately” and implied Zebec is among themreddit.com. Another wrote that Sam and his associate “keep investors’ money and put it right in their pocket… They [even] think of changing the company name so it looks like a whole new coin.”reddit.com This was written before the rebrand to ZBCN, which in hindsight only validates their suspicion.

It’s worth noting that Zebec’s team vehemently denies being a scam, calling the accusations baseless FUD. They point out that no regulator has taken action against Zebec, no major VC has publicly dumped their holdings, and the project continues to release new features (e.g. acquisitions like Gatenox KYC, new advisor appointments, etc.)99bitcoins.com99bitcoins.com. As of mid-2025, Zebec is still operating – it has a working app and some real users (they claim $40M+ in payroll volume and thousands of card users)99bitcoins.com. However, “not yet rug-pulled” is a low bar for legitimacy. Many scam projects do maintain a facade of activity and even real utility for a while. The preponderance of red flags – especially the founder’s history and the pattern of misleading communications – has led a large portion of the community to conclude that Zebec is, at best, highly risky and, at worst, a long-con that will eventually unravel.

  • To start the top wallets are dumping This raises the biggest red flag, why are they selling? Seems like they do it after every big pump that they seem to generate from hype and fake rumours like xrp

  • On their website, they got rid of one of their advisors lu who was a solana advisor. That’s kind of weird on top of that all these partnerships, but some of them are aren’t really confirmed such as Bank of America and Jp Morgan and ondo.

  • Why say ur in talks with xrp and say news is gonna come out in 2 weeks and nthg comes out like xrp or iso related .Anyone could build a Visa card lol

  • founder Sams x account in his bio he says all his retweet and likes our financial advice, but all of them are just ZBCN which makes me wonder if he knows this is gonna dump lol. Also him being known for rug pull doesn’t really help too

  • USDC partners disclamer

  • ZBEC pumped significantly due to the rumours around an XRP partnership.

  • Ondo and Visa announced their partnerships with them so they’re putting up their capital as wel

  • Ondo has them listed as a partner: Ecosystem | Ondo Finance https://share.google/YcfEtyqJKxeSOZ4Rm

    Lighspeed invested in them: Zebec | Lightspeed | Venture Capital https://share.google/FfIZEnzjz6FAjKJNx

  • Zebec Network COO Simon Babakhani spoke at the House of Lords before MPs, regulators, and compliance leaders, highlighting the path toward responsible Web3 innovation. -> fake image

We researched and collected the biggest red falgs and warnings from the community, blogs and so on that weren't explicity mentioned before in theis report and try to access it each one as objective as possible.

Governance

Conclusion

  • Overall integrity of the protocol

  • Risk level: Low / Medium / High

  • Should investors/users proceed with caution?

  • What needs more transparency?

Zebec Network entered the scene with an innovative idea (continuous payment streams) and attracted top-tier backers, but over time it has accumulated a litany of red flags that are hard to ignore. These include the founder’s involvement in a $38M token dump scandal and alleged plagiarism, false or overhyped partnership claims (e.g. the nonexistent Ripple deal), grandiose promises like a $1 trillion revenue target, sudden tokenomic pivots, and signs of manipulation in governance and social media. The project’s token was even delisted by a major exchange over transparency concerns.

All of this has severely damaged Zebec’s credibility. While the project is still running and has not definitively “rug pulled” as of now, the warning signs are flashing brightly. Prospective investors and partners should exercise extreme caution. The case of Zebec highlights how even a project that looks legitimate – with real products and big-name investors – can mask unethical practices behind the scenes. Until Sam Thapaliya and his team directly address these issues with verifiable transparency (or until an external audit/authority clears them), the safest assumption many observers make is that Zebec Network is not to be trustedreddit.comreddit.com. The red flags compiled above provide a strong basis for that conclusion, as echoed by numerous voices in the crypto community.

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