ZK Casino Is Back — and Finally Refunding Users After a Year of Silence
After months of complete silence, ZK Casino has suddenly reappeared with an update — and it’s caught the crypto world off guard.
According to a post on X (formerly Twitter) by the project’s anonymous founder, known as Derivatives Monke, about 35% of affected users have now received refunds. Another round of payouts is expected next week, which could bring the total to around 75%.
That’s some progress — but a full recovery is still unclear after more than a year of disputes, confusion, and frustration.
What Happened to ZK Casino?
ZK Casino launched in April 2024, promising something that sounded almost too good to be true: users could bridge their ETH (Ethereum) into its layer-2 blockchain, earn yield, and withdraw their ETH anytime.
But that promise didn’t last long. Instead of letting people take their money back, the team converted deposits into ZKAS tokens and staked the ETH on Lido, locking away user funds.
When users realized they couldn’t withdraw, the project was accused of being a scam. Over 10,000 users were affected, and the losses added up to around $33 million.
Even Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, criticized the project, saying ZK Casino’s claims about using zero-knowledge tech were false.
Later, on-chain researchers linked the team to previous scams, and Dutch authorities made several arrests. But only a small amount of money was recovered at the time.
The Refunds Begin — Slowly
Now, after months of silence, some users are finally seeing refunds show up in their wallets — either on zkSync Lite or zkSync Era.
According to the founder, about 35% of addresses have received their ETH back, and the team plans to roll out another batch next week. Some users might even get extra interest added, depending on how the final balances are calculated.
However, larger withdrawals will require identity verification, which the founder said is due to legal rules — though many in the community still see it as a red flag.
Can Users Expect Full Repayment?
For now, it’s too early to say. The founder claims that refunds will continue “in batches,” and the goal is to reach 75% of affected wallets soon. But no one knows exactly when or if everyone will get their money back.
The team says it’s working with “multiple parties” to complete the payouts, but details remain vague. A lot depends on liquidity, legal negotiations, and how remaining on-chain assets are handled.
Meanwhile, many affected users are still skeptical. They point to the long delays, the lack of transparency, and the fact that there’s still no third-party oversight confirming what’s happening behind the scenes.
The Bottom Line
The partial refunds are a small win for victims of one of crypto’s longest-running collapse stories — but trust in ZK Casino is still badly broken.
Even if 75% of users eventually get paid, the whole saga has become a reminder for everyone in the crypto space: when something promises easy yield and instant withdrawals, it’s worth asking — is it really as safe as it sounds?
