The San Bernardino County, US coroner’s public death record lists the death of Hsin-Ju Chuang, a former partner of crypto venture capital firm Hack VC, as a suicide. She was found dead in California on August 24 at the age of 37. A spokesperson for the California Highway Patrol said the circumstances surrounding the incident are still under investigation. Chuang had previously publicly accused her former employer; Hack VC co-founder Alexander Pack said the company had not had direct contact with her for more than 10 months. (Backgrounder: Hack VC’s former partner was found dead in the desert; before that, she posted a long article accusing she was “threatened after leaving.”) (Additional context: the fault line for crypto VCs: the three survival answers from a16z, Dragonfly, and Paradigm.) Key summary County coroner’s record Hsin-Ju Chuang’s manner of death is listed as suicide; she was 37 years old California Highway Patrol says the August 24 death incident is still under investigation Hack VC says it had not contacted her directly for over 10 months; its August response post was deleted The San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner’s public death record has listed Hsin-Ju Chuang’s manner of death as suicide. A follow-up by CoinDesk to the county’s death-records system shows the record lists the date of death as August 24, age 37, and residence as North Las Vegas. “Manner of death” is the coroner’s classification of the type of death and is different from “cause of death,” which refers to the recorded physiological reason for death. This record publishes only the manner of death and does not include other autopsy details. A spokesperson for the California Highway Patrol (CHP) replied to CoinDesk by email, saying its investigation into Chuang’s death is still ongoing and there is no other information that can currently be released. The case is handled by CHP’s Inland Division. The coroner’s office addresses the circumstances and nature of death, while the Highway Patrol investigates the incident itself, so even after the record was released, the investigation was not yet concluded. Hack VC removed its August response On August 23, Chuang posted a long statement on X saying she would rather not get any settlement money than accept a settlement that required her to stay silent. She said she had fired her lawyer and previewed evidence to be released on August 26 about her time working at Hack VC. She accused the company of still requiring her to work even while she was experiencing health problems. She said that when she submitted her resignation, she was threatened that she would be blacklisted in the industry. She also said her extended medical insurance coverage after her departure was also affected. She was found dead the evening of the next day. CoinDesk noted that none of these allegations have been verified to date, and there is no confirmed link between her post and her death. Hack VC responded on X at the time, saying: “Although we have a major difference in our understanding of the matter, out of respect for privacy, we do not currently wish to discuss details publicly,” but the post was later deleted. After news of her death broke on September 23, Hack VC co-founder Alexander Pack posted a statement on X saying he was shocked and saddened by her passing: “This is an unimaginable tragedy for many of us who worked alongside Hsin-Ju in this community, and we share the heartbreak and… — Alexander Pack (@alpackaP) September 23, 2026 Hsin-Ju Chuang joined Hack VC in 2021 as a venture partner, and was promoted in 2025 to partner and platform lead. Previously, she handled growth business for Stellar and Solana, and also founded Dystopia Labs, which has long hosted Ethereum developer events. The evidence she previewed has not been made public, and the related allegations remain unverified. The results of the California Highway Patrol’s investigation will be the next official statement. *Cherish life. If you or someone close to you needs help, you can call the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s 1925 hotline (安心專線), the Lifeline 1995 hotline, or the Teacher Zhang hotline 1980. FAQ Has Hsin-Ju Chuang’s cause of death been confirmed? The San Bernardino County coroner’s public death record lists her manner of death as suicide, with the death date as August 24. She was 37. The record did not release any additional autopsy details, and the California Highway Patrol’s investigation is still ongoing. How did Hack VC respond to Hsin-Ju Chuang’s allegations Hack VC said in August that its understanding of the incident differed significantly from her account; the post was later deleted. On September 23, co-founder Alexander Pack said it had been over 10 months since it had directly contacted her and that it is not aware of the circumstances of her death, with no further information available. Related coverage Hack VC’s former partner found dead in the desert; previously, she posted a long article accusing she was “threatened after leaving.” The fault line for crypto VCs: the three survival answers from a16z, Dragonfly, and Paradigm a16z raises a $2 billion crypto fund against the odds, but the adjacent venture capital firm has already moved on to look at AI and robots “Hack VC’s former partner was found dead in her car and was ruled a suicide; California police are still investigating.” This article was first published by BlockTempo (動區BlockTempo; the most influential blockchain news media).