Former Hack VC partner Hsin-Ju rejects settlement and will release evidence publicly; crypto VC workplace culture draws renewed attention.
Written by: Nicky, Foresight News
In the early hours of August 24, former Hack VC partner and platform head Hsin-Ju Chuang posted on X, announcing her rejection of the company's proposed settlement and her decision to release all evidence collected during her tenure at Hack VC on August 26.
Hack VC subsequently issued a brief response, stating that it was aware of the relevant posts, expressed deep concern for Hsin-Ju's health, but noted significant differences in the two parties' understanding of the incident, and would not publicly discuss details for privacy reasons.
Hsin-Ju's public allegations focus on her working conditions during employment and insurance handling after leaving. According to her account, last year, despite medical emergencies including diagnosed Graves' disease, hyperthyroidism, and severe insomnia, she was still required to continue high-intensity work—13 to 14 hours a day, six days a week, often sleeping less than four hours.
For these reasons, Hsin-Ju claims she repeatedly tried to resign but was refused, and was threatened with being blacklisted in the industry if she left before completing activities related to Korea Blockchain Week (KBW). According to her tweets, after this state lasted nearly a month, she attempted suicide. Later, she stated in writing to Hack VC that she had no intention of suing, only asking to no longer be retaliated against or defamed. However, she claims that just one month after her suicide attempt, the company delayed handling her COBRA (U.S. Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) health insurance, a problem that persisted for nearly four months until she hired a lawyer to intervene and resolve it.
It was during this legal negotiation process that a settlement proposal was put forward, but she ultimately chose to give it up. Hsin-Ju stated that she was unwilling to sign a non-disclosure agreement in exchange for a settlement, as it would mean silence for money. She revealed that she had fired her attorney the previous day, deciding to speak out even without the money. This choice is logically unusual—most parties in disputes would seek maximum benefits with their lawyer's assistance rather than giving up voluntarily—but her explanation is that after nearly a year of negotiations, she realized she could not accept the outcome of "taking money to stay silent."
In response to Hack VC's statement of not discussing details publicly for privacy reasons, Hsin-Ju further posted that she believes the real reason is not privacy, but that Hack VC is unwilling to make a fixed narrative about the incident early on, lest the written evidence she releases later contradicts it.
Public information shows that Hsin-Ju entered the crypto space in 2017, serving as growth lead in the early teams of Stellar and Solana successively. She later founded Dystopia Labs, focusing on developer ecosystem building and Web3 event organization. In 2024, she joined Fhenix as growth lead, and in March 2025, officially became a partner and platform head at Hack VC. She emphasized that during her time at Hack VC, she received a salary increase to $300,000, bonuses, and promises of carried interest, and that she is not initiating the action for financial motives, but chose to go public because of the substantial harm she suffered.
Hack VC holds a certain position in the crypto venture capital field. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, regulatory filings show its assets under management (AUM) are approximately $823 million. Its portfolio includes well-known Web3 projects such as Sui, EigenLayer, Berachain, Morpho, and Stable, and it has achieved exits in acquisition cases like Rail and Vertex. According to data from the Preqin database and LinkedIn official page, its fixed core staff and investment team are about 15 people, with the total number of registered/associated employees ranging from 11 to 50.
The other key figures in the incident are Hack VC co-founder and managing partner Alexander Pack, and partner, general counsel, and COO Daniel Bulaevsky. Alexander Pack previously co-founded Dragonfly Capital and served as its first managing partner, and also led Web3 investments at Bain Capital Ventures, accumulating deep connections and influence in the industry. Daniel Bulaevsky also has a strong professional background: he worked as a lawyer at top New York law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, participating in cross-border mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and securities law matters. Later, he engaged in leveraged finance at JPMorgan Chase, and after joining Hack VC, he is responsible for legal, financial, and overall operations. The core positions of the two in the institution mean that Hsin-Ju's allegations directly point to the governance responsibility of Hack VC's decision-making layer.
Hsin-Ju explicitly mentioned the two in her posts, saying she was told that Alexander Pack has known the managing partners of most VC firms for nearly a decade and has the ability to blacklist her in the industry. For a practitioner who has worked in the crypto field for nine years and long relied on connections and reputation to obtain opportunities, the potential pressure from these two industry seniors will undoubtedly exacerbate the uncertainty of her situation. Daniel Bulaevsky, as general counsel, his handling of labor disputes and insurance issues is also included in Hsin-Ju's allegations.
If the evidence Hsin-Ju releases supports her allegations, Hack VC may face multi-level legal risks. Under California's legal framework, employers have strict duties of reasonable accommodation. Refusing to adjust work intensity after being informed, preventing employees from leaving for medical reasons, or making retaliatory threats may constitute discrimination, failure to engage in the interactive process, or retaliation. Delaying COBRA insurance handling for nearly four months may also violate federal notification and management obligations. In addition, if relevant threats lead to severe emotional harm, it may involve tort liability such as intentional infliction of emotional distress. However, the final determination of these risks depends on the strength of the evidence, the legal recognition of her employee status, and specific communication records. Currently, the two parties have significant differences on the facts.
At the community level, some practitioners have publicly expressed support for Hsin-Ju. Michael Feng, co-founder of Hummingbot, said he has collaborated with Hsin-Ju to organize meetings multiple times, believing she has always been hardworking, ethical, and responsible, and added that if evidence shows the leadership did not prioritize employee health over business, all LPs should redeem their investments. Some voices in the Chinese-speaking community believe that despite the extreme workload and health damage, the salary of about $300,000 a year plus bonuses may still attract people to accept similar conditions. This view reflects the prevalent "high salary for high pressure" culture in the crypto industry from another angle.
Hsin-Ju's choice to release evidence on August 26 means the incident will transition from a personal narrative to a stage that can be externally verified. She stated that she is aware that facing an institution managing hundreds of millions of dollars in assets, the outcome may be extremely unfavorable to her personally, but she still refuses to exchange silence for a settlement.
For Hack VC, regardless of the legal outcome, this public dispute has already begun to affect its reputation in the industry. For the broader crypto practitioners, this incident provides an opportunity to re-examine workplace governance, power boundaries, and individual protection.