TLDR:
- BNB Chain alleges a former employee reused a tutorial wallet seed phrase to launch the ASTEROID token.
- Four wallets acquired 79.67% of ASTEROID’s supply before selling most tokens for approximately $638,000.
- Lookonchain estimated about $628,000 in trading profit, although ownership of the wallets remains unverified.
- The case shows how retained seed phrases can preserve wallet access after private-key deletion and staff exit.
BNB Chain is pursuing legal action against a former employee accused of using retained wallet credentials to launch the ASTEROID Memecoin. The dispute centers on an educational wallet previously used in a token tutorial and later linked to a separate memecoin launch.
The network said the individual kept unauthorized access to the wallet’s seed phrase after leaving the organization. According to its account, the former employee generated new access credentials and reused the address to create Asteroid Shiba, known as ASTEROID.
Seed Phrase Access Drives BNB Chain’s Legal Case
BNB Chain said it neither created, approved, promoted nor controlled the token. It also denied any affiliation with the wallet activity surrounding the ASTEROID Memecoin.
The organization is cooperating with authorities and preparing legal action, although it has not named the individual or disclosed the relevant jurisdiction. It also has not stated whether the proceedings will be civil, criminal or both.
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao repeated the allegations on X and warned users to remain cautious. However, the claims have not yet been tested through a court filing or judicial ruling.
On-chain analysis added a financial dimension during the disputed token launch. Lookonchain reported that four newly created wallets spent about $10,000 to acquire 796.7 million ASTEROID tokens.
That purchase represented 79.67% of the token’s total supply. The wallets later sold 718.8 million tokens for 1,103 BNB, valued near $638,000 at the time.
Lookonchain estimated the trades produced approximately $628,000 in profit. Still, public blockchain records alone do not prove who controlled the addresses.
The Block said it could not independently confirm that the four wallets belonged to the former employee. Linking an address to an individual generally requires evidence beyond transaction records.
The disputed launch also drew objections from an earlier project using the Asteroid Shiba name. However, that team denied involvement and said the newer token copied its identity.
ASTEROID Trading Data Raises Wallet Ownership Questions
The address had previously appeared during the creation of TST, a demonstration token featured in a February 2025 BNB Chain tutorial. The network later described TST as an unintended memecoin created while showing token deployment through Four.Meme.
Traders discovered TST after its name appeared in the tutorial. Speculation then pushed the token’s market capitalization above $50 million. Zhao said TST was not an official network token. As a result, the tutorial was removed, while the creator address reportedly held 0.13% of TST’s supply.
The latest dispute highlights the difference between deleting a private key and securing the recovery phrase behind it. Basically, a wallet can be restored when someone retains its seed phrase.
That detail makes employee offboarding central to the ASTEROID Memecoin case. Previously shared recovery phrases can preserve access even after local files or keys are deleted.
For blockchain organizations, tutorial wallets can carry reputational value long after their original purpose ends. Therefore, reusing a known address may influence how traders interpret a new token.
For now, the unresolved issues concern wallet ownership, legal jurisdiction and the evidence available to investigators. Until filings emerge, the allegations remain claims rather than established findings.
