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X1 blockchain at the center of the OKX and XEN war

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The X1 network is being developed under the leadership of Mr. Jack Levin, starting in January 2023. The blockchain is going to unite 13 chains where XEN Crypto exists, but the recent launch of Layer 2 with the same name by OKX Exchange initiated a war for the brand. The heated reaction from the Xenians and a cease-and-desist order from the first Google-backend engineer compelled the OKX representatives to address the situation. In the wake of the XEN founder asserting the exclusive rights to the X1 name, the stage is set for the trademark dispute with OKX.

OKX's X1 Announcement

On Tuesday, November 14, OKX revealed its foray into the Ethereum Layer 2 space through the launch of its Zero Knowledge-powered Ethereum Layer 2 testnet named X1. The collaboration with Polygon Labs and the use of the Chain Development Kit (CDK) aim to provide seamless access to the Ethereum and Polygon ecosystems for OKX’s users.

However, the unveiling of OKX’s Layer 2 chain under the moniker X1 has stirred up a storm within the XEN community. Led by founder Mr. Levin, discontent has rippled through the community, alleging copyright infringement by OKX.

The exchange defends itself with a lack of knowledge about the existence of XEN Crypto, the founder, and the related X1 network, despite the evidence of a previous partnership, collaboration, and past private conversations disclosed by Mr. Levin. There’s a track record of OKX rebranding twice before taking over the X1 brand, and new information is always coming through.

X1 Trademark Dispute Unfolds

On November 14, OKX made headlines with the announcement of its Layer 2 testnet, garnering extensive coverage from prominent cryptocurrency media outlets.

However, it was revealed that the initial moniker for their testnet was XGON. A last-minute decision led to a swift rebranding, changing the landscape just three days before the launch. The sudden shift in nomenclature invites scrutiny and questions about the exchange’s decision-making process.

 

Mr. Levin posted on X that X1 and XEN are trademarks of Xenworld LLC, of which he’s the CEO.

At the same time, the founder of XEN announced the plan to launch a new token called XONE as a protest against the actions of OKX and for the defence of the first principles XEN was built on. The X post featured him and one of the OKX employees in a photo taken right before the launch of XEN on the OKX Chain in November 2022.

OKX entered into a partnership with Jack Levin to promote XEN on their platform. A Twitter space between both teams was held on November 29, 2022: https://x.com/i/spaces/1mnGeRewVqoJX and it was streamed on the OKT (OKC Chain) YouTube channel as well:

On December 2, there was another stream between both teams:

OKX wrote a blog post about XEN How to use OKX wallet to participate in XEN? (App) | OKX and promoted it on their platform with a $4,000 OKT prize pool to share between the XEN minters.

On November 17, 2023, Jack Levin started revealing past private conversations with OKX representatives:

 

In the aftermath of the XEN community’s protest across OKX-associated social media channels, Haider Rafique, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of OKX, has issued a response. Mr. Rafique claimed a lack of prior knowledge regarding XEN or its associated X1 project.

As a consequence of the CMO’s ignorance of OKX dealings with the XEN founder or the project itself, Mr. Levin decided to release a “cease-and-desist” order directing the CMO to the FairCrypto Foundation legal page listing all trademarked brands.

In a bold move, the founder of XEN, has mobilized his followers, urging them to report OKX’s X1 account for alleged “brand infringement.” Upon launch of OKX’s Layer 2 testnet, the exchange secured the X1 account on X and initiated promotional activities. The clash on social media platforms adds a dynamic layer to the ongoing dispute, underscoring the intensity of the battle for the X1 name.

X1 blockchain: Devnet, Fastnet, Xenblocks

There’s a substantial body of evidence that X1 was created by Mr. Levin in January 2023.

The X1 testnet, aptly named Devnet, underwent rigorous testing over the course of several months, handling a staggering volume of over 5 million processed transactions spread over 30 million unique addresses. The first official announcement of the Devnet’s existence appeared on January 23, marking a significant milestone in the journey of X1’s development. This key evidence sheds light on the timeline and extensive testing of X1.

 

Three days prior, there was an announcement of the name of the chain:

This event was covered here: X1 blockchain to unite XEN Crypto communities from 10 chains – XEN Crypto

The X1 Devnet was officially launched on January 28.

The X1 DEVNET exceeds all expectations—XEN Crypto

Throughout the development phase, Mr. Jack Levin maintained a transparent and communicative approach, consistently sharing updates from the X1 testnet, known as Devnet. His regular postings offered a glimpse into the progress, and successes of the project, creating an open dialogue with the community. Multiple projects were subsequently launched on Devnet.

As the project unfolded, it garnered widespread attention across various media platforms, including YouTube, Twitter, Telegram, and through dedicated blog posts highlighting the developments of X1. The FairCrypto Foundation released the X1 Litepaper, providing an overview of the final implementation.

Amidst the social media censorship and the professed ignorance of facts related to the matter by the CMO of OKX, Mr. Levin served the exchange with a Cease and Desist document:

In response, Heider tweeted: “Focus on building an actual product”. This public retort reflects the escalating tensions and divergent perspectives between the two parties embroiled in the X1 naming dispute.

A new version of the X1 testnet was released after a few months of Devnet utilisation. The primary objective of this release was to evaluate the speed and viability of the Fantom blockchain, exploring its potential integration into the X1 mainnet. This testnet version was called X1 Fastnet.

In a revealing insight into the testing operations surrounding the X1 Fastnet, a Google Analytics report sheds light on the magnitude of user engagement and visibility. The report stands as a testament to the meticulous testing approach employed, involving a staggering 30,000 users who collectively generated nearly 500,000 views.

These analytics not only underscore the scale of the testing operations but also emphasize the robust user participation that accompanied the evaluation of X1 Fastnet.

OKX may have made a potential oversight in naming; however, it’s unclear how a company who extensively promoted XEN on their own exchange and blog, and who held live streams and Twitter spaces with Mr. Levin could claim zero knowledge about the existence of the project.

OKX announced their stance related to the matter in a  message to Mr. Levin:

X1 trademark registration was filled in the USA and X1 has been actively used on testnets for several months. According to U.S. law, use in commerce holds precedence over the registration date.

“The precedent for trademark is use in commerce, which it was, airdrops are triggered by market trading actions. Haider however claimed to have zero knowledge of us when coming up with X1. He would have to say the truth if it goes to court, do we will all know,” said Google’s #21.

Official trademark registration records reveal that X1 registration application was filled on November 19, 2023, with the first documented use in commerce dating back to February 2.

X1 Network™
X1 Blockchain™

The last time Devnet was heavily used by the participants was during the recent launch of the XONE token: XONE (XONE Token) – X1 Blockchain ᵀᴹ – BlockScout (xen.network)

XONE was deployed on November 20. The Litepaper is available here: xenminer/docs/xone_tokenomics.pdf at main · jacklevin74/xenminer (github.com).  The mint lasted just a little over 3 hours, and over 22,000 addresses minted the token, raising the gas to 140 gwei. The token was immediately listed on the Kanga exchange and on MEXC. 

Interestingly, there was a large amount of the token minted by the OKX exchange-connected wallets as well.

OKX, despite being served with a cease-and-desist order, has opted to go ahead with the promotion of its X1 network on various social media platforms.

In the meantime, Mr. Levin continues developing X1, which was redesigned in recent months to become a hybrid PoS/PoW system with the memory-hard Argon2 algorithm, where X1 takes on the role of the PoS part and Xenblocks is the PoW complement working as a settlement layer. The dual-layer consensus is engineered for speeds higher than Solana, security, and energy efficiency not seen in other PoW-based blockchains. The Xenblocks codebase is maintained at jacklevin74/xenminer (github.com) and the Litepaper is available here.

What is XEN Crypto

XEN Crypto is a token rooted in the first principles of crypto. It was created to spread knowledge about self-custody, decentralisation, transparency, and censorship resistance. It’s a token anyone can mint for free by connecting their wallet to the xen.network webapp and paying the gas fee.

Deployed across an impressive spectrum of 13 chains, including Ethereum, BSC, Avalanche, Polygon, Ethereum PoW, Fantom, Evmos, Moonbeam, Pulsechain, Base, Optimism, Dogechain, and OKX Chain, XEN Crypto faced notable challenges in its journey. The spirit of decentralization clashed with centralized practices when Dogechain chose to censor the XEN contract shortly after deployment. Meanwhile, the OKX Chain raised fees exclusively for the XEN contract and eventually censored the associated XENFT batchminter, raising questions about the platform’s commitment to decentralization.

In the face of these challenges, the XEN community rallied against OKX, adopting a proactive stance to defend their principles. A notable symbol of this resistance is the creation of a profile picture (PFP) featuring Jack Levin, as an initiative to mobilize individuals in spreading the crucial message: appropriating the X1 name is unacceptable.

 

The XEN community reached out to crypto-related media outlets and was met with support from CryptoSlate. Coincarp covered the events independently.

https://www.coincarp.com/learn/what-is-x1-blockchain-a-solution-to-break-the-divide-between-evm-and-bitcoin/

https://cryptoslate.com/okx-launches-testnet-for-x1-a-zkevm-layer-2-network-built-with-polygon-chain-development-kit/

 

Conclusion

The unveiling of OKX’s Layer 2 testnet was covered by the major crypto media outlets. However, the controversy surrounding this launch has now taken center stage, raising questions about the ethical dimensions of rebranding and intellectual property.

The launch of Layer 2 by OKX was preceded by a 3-day rebranding. Compared to the 11-month-long thorough testing of Jack Levin’s X1 blockchain, with millions of transactions and addresses created, the evidence tips the scales of justice versus the XEN community.

Moreover, the content generated during the months leading up to this clash, spanning YouTube, blogs, and various social media platforms, showcases a surge of backing for Jack Levin’s vision.

Beyond just spreading awareness, community members have been instrumental in stress-testing the X1 blockchain on various testnets. This hands-on involvement paints a vivid picture of the authenticity and dedication embedded in the XEN ecosystem.

As the clash intensifies, it becomes evident that OKX may be facing an uphill battle. With a reservoir of evidence at their disposal and a staunch defense from Jack Levin and his followers, the court of public opinion appears to be swaying in favor of the XEN community. In this high-stakes trademark dispute, the battle for the blockchain’s identity has only just begun.

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