JUSTICE FOR SUCHIR, a cryptocurrency token, which aims to support the legal effort to investigate the death of OpenAI whistle-blower Suchir Balaji, has lost most of its value within a month after being minted.
The token was first minted on December 13 on the Solana blockchain. Per CoinMarketCap analytics, it touched a high of almost $0.009 on December 30, and subsequently dropped to approximately $0.0019 on January 17, a drop of 74.50%.
Though likely not intended to be an investment vehicle, the drastic fall in price raises questions about why such a volatile asset is being used for legal fundraising and how transparency will be ensured.
Mr. Balaji had voiced ethical concerns about OpenAI’s alleged scraping of copyrighted works to train its AI products like ChatGPT. He also spoke to The New York Times about his findings in 2024 after leaving the company.
The 26-year-old was found dead inside his apartment in San Francisco on November 26, per local media reports. While initially reported as a suicide, his mother, Ms. Poornima Rao, is seeking an investigation into the death as she believes her son has been murdered.
Ms. Rao endorsed the JUSTICE FOR SUCHIR campaign, as well as the token, and asked for support to raise funds to help the family get justice for Balaji.
The SUCHIR token [token address: ByXTsen3ftsd7SsqgXpSZqrEeoMV8Smhz1vox9j6pump] has a self-reported market cap of $2.11 million and a self-reported circulating supply of 999.92 million SUCHIR, per CoinMarketCap.
It is not clear how the founding team of the SUCHIR token is related to the family, or who is leading the project.
On CoinMarketCap, the token was linked to the @SuchirJustice account on X, which said it was “supporting Suchir’s family and legacy through crypto”.
However, the official website linked to the crypto token lacks any verified information about the founding team, token developers, the economics of the token and its distribution, and how donations will specifically be accounted for.
These are key details that investors and traders should be able to easily access, so that they can assess the trustworthiness of a crypto project and how technically and financially sound it is.
“Your support will help Suchir’s family cover the costs of a private investigation and legal fees as they pursue the truth about his tragic death. Every contribution brings us closer to uncovering what really happened and ensuring accountability,” said the justiceforsuchir.org website.
The website also featured two tweets supporting Mr. Balaji, with AI-generated images of a protest for the whistleblower.
Apart from the SUCHIR token endorsed by Ms. Rao, there were also many copycat crypto tokens referencing Mr. Balaji and his family. (Most of these are likely scams.)
OpenAI reacts to allegations
While OpenAI earlier acknowledged Mr. Balaji’s death and expressed sympathies to his loved ones, the company’s newsroom account on X released a new statement on January 17.
This came after Ms. Rao was featured on The Tucker Carlson Show this week and said she believed her son’s death was due to homicide.
“Suchir was a valued member of our team and we are still heartbroken by his passing. We continue to feel his loss deeply. We’ve reached out to the San Francisco Police Department and have offered our assistance if it’s needed. Law enforcement are the right authorities in this situation, and we trust them to continue sharing updates as needed. Out of respect, we won’t be commenting further,” stated OpenAI.
Billionaire Elon Musk, who is locked in a legal struggle with OpenAI, has also voiced support for Ms. Rao’s cause.
“If there is any possibility that this was murder (and the evidence is at best unclear), then it deserves a full investigation!” he posted on X on January 16.
