Zhuang Xinru is a well-known Chinese female executive in the U.S. crypto industry and the former partner of Hack VC.
In August 2026, she revealed on social media the career troubles she faced at work: extremely long hours—nearly 80 hours a week—until her body collapsed, and she developed a thyroid condition. She accused her partners of using industry blacklisting threats to force her to keep working while she was sick, and that after she resigned, her health insurance also ran into problems.
She refused a settlement that included a confidentiality clause and planned to publicly disclose all the evidence. But the very next day after she posted, people found her in a car in the California desert.
Afterward, a police autopsy concluded it was suicide. This incident also exposed to the public the brutal reality behind the intense, high-pressure in-fighting in overseas Web3—an aspect that many people had not fully seen.
In August 2026, she revealed on social media the career troubles she faced at work: extremely long hours—nearly 80 hours a week—until her body collapsed, and she developed a thyroid condition. She accused her partners of using industry blacklisting threats to force her to keep working while she was sick, and that after she resigned, her health insurance also ran into problems.
She refused a settlement that included a confidentiality clause and planned to publicly disclose all the evidence. But the very next day after she posted, people found her in a car in the California desert.
Afterward, a police autopsy concluded it was suicide. This incident also exposed to the public the brutal reality behind the intense, high-pressure in-fighting in overseas Web3—an aspect that many people had not fully seen.