DefiLlama said it delayed its app launch after Apple ignored months of trademark complaints against fake versions. The team had to prove a scam app could drain funds before Apple acted.
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DefiLlama, a blockchain analytics tool used across crypto, deliberately delayed the release of its own mobile app because fake versions kept showing up on Apple's App Store first. The anonymous creator behind the platform, who goes by 0xngmi, said in an Aug. 15 post on X that the team spent months filing trademark and impersonation complaints against a fraudulent DefiLlama app – and got nowhere.
"We had been trying to take down a fake DefiLlama app on apple's store for months, telling Apple about trademark violations, impersonation… Then we loaded a small wallet, downloaded the app, got drained as expected and reported it to Apple," 0xngmi wrote.
Apple removed the fake app within days after the team sent video proof of the drain. The size of the test wallet was not disclosed. The attacker's wallet addresses were not shared.
The real DefiLlama app is now live as "DefiLlama: DeFi Tracker" version 1.0.5, with DEFILLAMA LIMITED listed as the developer and defillama.com as the official site. 0xngmi said the team held the app until all impersonating apps were taken down.
Fake wallet apps on Apple's store are not a new problem. Fraudulent versions of Rabby Wallet and Curve Finance appeared in 2024. In April, a fake Ledger Live app drained 5.9 BTC, worth roughly $420,000, from musician Garrett Dutton. Blockchain investigator ZachXBT traced the stolen funds to wallets linked to KuCoin. A separate lawsuit in the U.S. alleges that fake Sparrow Wallet apps led to $1.835 million in Bitcoin losses. Those claims have not been proven in court. A fake Phantom Wallet app also made it through Apple's review process before being yanked after users reported stolen funds.
Apple's App Store review guidelines ban apps that impersonate other services or steal intellectual property. Repeat violators can be expelled from the Apple Developer Program. Apple said it rejected more than 320,000 app submissions in 2024 for being copies, spam, or designed to trick users.
Apple did not comment on 0xngmi's timeline of events. Cointelegraph said it contacted Apple for a response but received none before publication.
Anyone trying to download the real DefiLlama app should go through defillama.com and double-check the developer name and provider details before hitting install.
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