Written by: Dingdang, Odaily Planet Daily

In February 2025, OX.FUN was pushed to the forefront due to a controversy. After JefeDAO deposited 1 million USDC on the platform and was unable to withdraw, OX.FUN quickly froze its funds, accusing it of market manipulation. JefeDAO countered, claiming platform fraud and presenting on-chain evidence of fund transfer. This dispute quickly escalated, causing OX's price to plummet 60%, dropping from $0.03 to $0.012, with total market value shrinking to $42 million, and community trust hanging by a thread.

In March 2025, Zhu Su announced taking over OX.FUN. This co-founder of Three Arrows Capital (3AC), once a shining star in crypto investment, fell from grace after 3AC's bankruptcy during the 2022 market crash. Now, he stands on a new stage with a determination to make a comeback. Can he lead OX.FUN out of the double crisis of trust and market weakness? Will OX.FUN become his comeback chip or another failed venture?

Platform Foundation: OX.FUN's Roots and Event Impact

OX.FUN is a perpetual futures trading platform centered on the OX token, focusing on deep trading and ecological expansion of Meme coins. Deployed on the Base chain using Optimism Rollup technology, it offers low-cost and high-throughput trading. Its core mechanism includes supporting over 600 tokens (covering BTC, ETH, SOL, and popular Meme coins like MOG, RETARDIO) as collateral, providing up to 100x leverage, with all profits and losses calculated in OX. This method closely links user earnings to OX price, enhancing ecological stickiness through trading, liquidation, and deflationary design. 50% of trading fees are burned (5 billion OX already destroyed), 30% reward OLP staking rewards (APR 10%-15%), 17.5% improve Aerodrome liquidity, and 2.5% incentivize leaderboard traders.

To further attract users, OX.FUN introduced gamified features like OX Farm and leaderboard competitions, making the trading experience more interactive. OX Farm provides staking rewards, while leaderboards stimulate trading enthusiasm through competitive mechanisms, attempting to retain retail investors in the high-risk Meme coin market.

OX.FUN had also received capital support. In February 2024, the platform completed a $4 million financing round, with investors including GenBlock Capital and Foresight Ventures, valuing it at around $40 million. This funding laid the groundwork for OX.FUN's technological development and market expansion.

Before the JefeDAO incident, OX.FUN showed certain growth momentum and development potential. As of January 2025, cumulative trading volume reached $2 billion, deposit scale was $1.5 billion, daily active users (DAU) stabilized around 50,000, with monthly trading volume between $100-150 million, of which Meme coin-related trades accounted for about 60%. Social trading features performed impressively, with daily copy trading volume accounting for 15% of total volume. OX Farm staking pool locked around 50 million OX. Leaderboard daily active traders were about 2,000, representing 4% of DAU. Base chain's low gas fees (average $0.01 per transaction) provided solid support for high-frequency trading.

However, the JefeDAO incident struck like a heavy hammer, breaking this prosperous landscape. After the event, OX's price plummeting directly weakened user confidence, with data experiencing dramatic fluctuations. By early March, DAU dropped from 50,000 to 42,000, a 16% decline, monthly trading volume shrank to $80 million, and daily open interest fell to historical lows. Despite Base chain's low-cost advantages remaining, the platform's attractiveness was significantly diminished.

Event Turning Point: Zhu Su's Entry and Initial Response

As OX.FUN was mired in difficulties, Zhu Su announced taking over the platform on X, promising "clearer strategic direction and execution". He stated that Nico would continue as co-leader, responsible for partnerships, and initiated team expansion plans, emphasizing "no employees affected by restructuring". This news acted like a stimulant, with OX price briefly rebounding to $0.015, a 25% increase, slightly warming market sentiment. However, community trust in this former Three Arrows Capital member remained unrestored, with doubts and expectations intertwining on X, some jokingly asking: "Is Zhu Su a savior or a hot potato?"

To stabilize the situation, OX.FUN quickly adjusted its stance. In early March, the platform used on-chain audit to prove fund safety, attempting to quell fund misappropriation suspicions, but some users questioned the audit's independence, with limited effect. Simultaneously, OX.FUN added a feedback channel on Discord, trying to repair community communication gaps. Zhu Su frequently voiced on X, stating "team expansion will inject new energy", attempting to rebuild confidence through action.

Roadmap and Outlook: Breakthrough in Crisis

To completely reverse the downturn, OX.FUN published a new roadmap on March 24, 2025, focusing on Meme coin deep trading, leveraging Base chain's low-cost advantages, revolving around four pillars to be reborn from crisis:

On-chain Transparency

Plan to achieve on-chain liquidation and reserve proof in Q2 2025, with first audits to be released in April, covering 90% of platform reserves, addressing trust issues.

Multi-chain Collateral

Supporting over 500 tokens and NFTs as collateral, cross-chain unified account expected to be tested in Q3, supporting chains like Ethereum and Solana. First pilot focusing on blue-chip NFTs, with internal tests showing 15% increase in daily trading volume for NFT collateral users. OX Chain testnet launched in January, mainnet expected in Q4, initially supporting $OX and 10 Meme coin staking pools.

Liquidity Optimization

OX Quanto trading and Hyperliquid USDC futures integrated on Base chain by late March, with daily trading volume around $5 million, planning to expand to $20 million in Q2. OX Quanto enhances perpetual contract flexibility, Hyperliquid provides stable settlement options.

User Experience

Mobile-first application expected to launch in Q3, supporting one-click deposits, with internal tests showing latency under 50 milliseconds. Automated trading strategies and Battle Vaults will be further integrated to optimize retail user experience.

The roadmap reveals OX.FUN's ambition to break through. If transparency improvements and multi-chain expansion successfully land, the platform may regain user trust, especially given Base chain's 30% Meme coin trading volume growth in Q1. However, OX price volatility, technical execution complexity, and overall market weakness (Meme coin trading volume down 40%) remain significant challenges.