In August 2026, a tragedy involving a Chinese executive unfolded within the U.S. crypto venture capital circle, exposing the brutal reality of cutthroat internal competition beneath the shiny exterior of the Web3 industry. Zhuang Xinru, the former partner of Hack VC, died under mysterious circumstances after publicly accusing workplace bullying, high-pressure exploitation, and previewing the full evidence she claimed would be revealed. In the end, police ruled her death a suicide. The tragedy sparked widespread online reflection on the pathological work culture within the high-end venture capital industry.

Zhuang Xinru was a seasoned practitioner with nine years of experience in the overseas blockchain space. Her resume looked impressive and her abilities were outstanding. During her career, she deeply participated in industry events for major public chains such as Ethereum, Solana, and Stellar, and managed operations for numerous high-profile industry projects. With her solid professional expertise, she secured a position at the well-known U.S. crypto venture capital firm Hack VC and was promoted to partner and platform lead—making her one of the few core executives among Chinese people in overseas Web3 circles. To outsiders, she had access to high-end networks, was positioned in a booming industry, and enjoyed an enviable career future.

But behind that glamorous identity is a long-term state of extreme overwork. After she joined Hack VC in 2021, high-intensity work became her daily routine. She publicly accused the company on social media, saying the company enforced an extreme overtime system: working 6 days a week, with daily hours lasting as long as 13 to 14 hours, weekly hours exceeding 78. There was no adequate time for rest throughout the year. Long-term, overloaded work finally broke her body completely, leading her to develop a thyroid condition, along with severe insomnia and mental anxiety—her overall physical and mental health collapsing.

After her body flashed a red warning light, Zhuang Xinru tried to rest and even applied for resignation, but she was met with ruthless suppression in the workplace. She revealed that during her severe illness, two partners at the firm not only refused to let her recuperate, but instead threatened her with an all-industry blackout and harshly pressured her to keep working while sick and handle major industry events. Even when her mind and body were on the brink of collapse, she was forced to fulfill high-intensity duties. During the dispute over her resignation, the company also unlawfully processed her medical insurance paperwork, causing her to lose basic medical coverage—leaving her trapped in a dual nightmare affecting both her physical and mental well-being and her day-to-day life.

The two sides then entered a legal mediation process. The company proposed a settlement package that included a high-priced confidentiality agreement, trying to buy her silence with compensation. However, Zhuang Xinru chose to fight back fully. She rejected all settlement compensation, declined to have the attorney representing her continue, and gave up any compromise route. Instead, she publicly previewed that on August 26 she would release complete evidence of workplace bullying, forced overtime, and verbal threats. She was determined to rip open the industry’s dark curtain. When she posted, she already expected the risks, admitting that this confrontation could bring catastrophic consequences to herself—every line and word filled with despair.

What is especially regrettable is that the very next day after her public accusations—August 24—California police found Zhuang Xinru’s body in the car in the Mojave Desert. On September 25, local authorities issued a complete post-mortem report, which ultimately determined the cause of death to be suicide. After the incident was exposed, it quickly ignited reactions across circles at home and abroad. Hack VC only issued a brief response that the two parties had long been estranged, without directly addressing the core issues she accused—workplace exploitation and threats of blacklisting.

This tragedy is absolutely not an isolated case, but a snapshot of the sick ecosystem in the Web3 crypto venture capital industry. This high-paying, glamorous niche circle has long been shrouded in a gray atmosphere of relentless internal pressure, the law of the jungle, and network monopolies. People in the field commonly face invisible pressures such as unlimited overtime, workplace power bullying, and industry resource blacklisting. Many are forced to continuously drain their physical and mental health over the long term just to maintain their industry identity and protect their core resources.

Zhuang Xinru’s departure is a tragic ending for a dream-chasing professional, and it also serves as a warning to the entire high-pressure, high-salary industry. A workplace is never a life-or-death gamble. No matter how glamorous the title or how high the pay, nothing can ever override physical and mental health or personal dignity. This heartbreaking tragedy allows people to see clearly: all bottomless workplace grinding and bullying by power will eventually come at an irreversible cost.