DWF Labs and GSR in a Brawl: An Episode of Fuelling Competition

According to recent reports, the web3 investment firm DWF Labs and the market-making giants GSR and Wintermute have been embroiled in a controversial brawl, following a panel discussion at Web3 Connect: Journey through Digital Trade Horizons. The verbal fight on X (formerly Twitter) demonstrated the fuelling competition in the web3 space where platforms contest for recognition.

The dispute began with a post shared by Andrei Grachev, the founder of DWF Labs, in which he conveyed gratitude to Ciara Sun, who invited him to occupy a distinct space in the panel discussion. However, the tweet received stark reproval from critics including Cristian Gill, the co-founder of GSR, who questioned the appropriacy of DWF and Grachev to be on the panel. Gill asserted that Grachev had “absolutely no business to be on that panel”.

@ag_dwf had absolutely no business to be on that panel.
It’s insulting to @GSR_io , @okx and @wintermute_t to be in the same room as @DWFLabs .
It’s very sad that in late 2023 bad actors like @DWFLabs can still get so much airtime.

— Cristian Gil (@CristiangilGSR) September 20, 2023

The GSR co-founder added that the presence of Grachev in the same panel had been an insult to established market makers like GSR, Wintermute, and OKX. Web3 experts like Chief Golem sided with Gill, criticizing DWF Labs and Alameda Research for claiming themselves as market makers.

However, Grachev’s response to Gill ignited the skirmish, as he boasted of his company’s position over GSR in the industry, in terms of technology, trading, and business development. He cited,

I never thought that you could be THAT scared of us. Yeah, we are stronger than you in terms of tech, trading, BD and everything. Just try to compete fairly – and you’d gone. Yeah, if I were you – I would be also crying all the time. Cheers.

Meanwhile, Chinese crypto reporter Colin Wu, on his official page Wu Blockchain, has been providing updates on the scuffle between Grachev and Gill. The reporter’s timely reports on the comments of both Grachev and Gill have shared insights on the intensifying fury as well as the wider rivalries in the crypto industry.

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