A Tragic End on a Desert Highway
TREE NEWS reports: On August 24, the body of 37-year-old Hsin-Ju Chuang, a former partner at Hack VC, was discovered near the Fields Road off-ramp of Interstate 15 in California’s Mojave Desert. Just hours earlier, she had published a lengthy exposé targeting Hack VC co-founder Alexander Pack and partner Dmitry Bulaevsky. The timing has raised urgent questions about the treatment of employees at crypto’s most powerful venture firms.
A Stellar Crypto Career Cut Short
Chuang’s resume was a who’s-who of blockchain’s elite. She joined Stellar in 2017 as head of growth, moved to Solana in 2018 before its testnet launch, and later founded Dystopia Labs. She also contributed to Fhenix, a fully homomorphic encryption project, and organized 17 Ethereum community events globally. In May 2025, she joined Hack VC as a partner, a role that quickly turned into what she described as a nightmare.
Allegations of Coercion and Retaliation
Chuang faced severe health issues—including diffuse toxic goiter, hyperthyroidism, and chronic insomnia—yet was pressured to work 13-14 hours a day, six days a week. When she tried to resign, Pack and Bulaevsky allegedly threatened her with an “industry blacklist.” After a suicide attempt, she claimed Hack VC retaliated by stonewalling her COBRA health insurance for four months, forcing her to hire a lawyer. She also accused the firm of spreading rumors to tarnish her reputation while dangling carried interest and clawback provisions as leverage.
Unanswered Questions and Industry Implications
The California Highway Patrol is investigating, but no autopsy results are expected for six to twelve months due to toxicology and histology testing. Temperatures that day reached 42°C, but whether heat, illness, mechanical failure, or foul play caused her death remains unknown. Hack VC, which manages nearly $700 million and has backed EigenLayer, Sui, io.net, and Berachain, has not issued a public response.
This case casts a harsh spotlight on labor practices in crypto venture capital, where high stakes and opaque power dynamics can leave employees vulnerable. It also raises questions about the enforceability of non-disparagement and non-compete norms in an industry that prides itself on decentralization. As the investigation unfolds, the crypto community must confront uncomfortable truths about accountability, mental health, and the human cost of building the future of finance.
