DefiLlama founder says Apple only acted after fake app drained funds

The pseudonymous founder of the analytics platform, known as 0xngmi, revealed that the company intentionally delayed the public launch of its mobile application to protect users from potential scams. According to 0xngmi, the team spent months flagging fake DefiLlama apps to Apple, citing clear violations of trademark and impersonation policies. These efforts were largely ignored until the team provided concrete evidence of theft. Once they demonstrated that the fraudulent app could actively drain a wallet, Apple removed the listing within days.

This incident highlights a persistent vulnerability within the App Store, where fraudulent cryptocurrency applications frequently bypass review processes. Similar security failures have led to significant losses for users of other platforms, such as the Ledger Live and Sparrow Wallet cases, where victims reported millions of dollars in stolen assets. While Apple maintains that its review system evaluates all submissions for security, the company has previously rejected hundreds of thousands of apps for misleading users or copying existing services. The official DefiLlama application is now live, and the team urges users to verify the developer credentials directly through their website before installation to avoid falling victim to copycats.