Phemex

Who this is

Phemex is a crypto derivatives exchange, started in 2019. In January 2020 it ran the Satoshi-Maze, a portrait with 2.1 BTC hidden in it. Big launch for a young exchange.

The pitch was key custody. The rules page talks up the exchange's HD cold wallet system and quotes the CEO, Jack Tao. A puzzle as an ad for cold storage. Odd, but it works.

Max, the designer

The puzzle has a person behind it. A Letter from Max opens with "I am Max, Phemex co-founder and the satoshi-maze puzzle designer". He signs the Ending too. Max who, though? The letters give a first name only, so the record keeps him as a fact on the exchange, not as a second author.

He also admits the puzzle "may have proven to be too tough to crack this time". Then he publishes the key himself. Respect for that.

What the record says

Two facts. Max's letter, for who designed it. The rules page, for why an exchange hides keys in portraits. The dataset holds 1 of theirs. The Ending promised "more challenges in the future". Will there be one?

The record

static readonly author = party("Phemex", {
  key: "phemex",
  kind: PartyKind.Organization,
  about: "Crypto derivatives exchange founded in 2019. It hid a key in Satoshi's portrait to show why private keys belong in cold storage.",
  profiles: [profile("website", "https://phemex.com/"), profile("twitter", "https://x.com/Phemex_official")],
  facts: [
    fact("Max, a Phemex co-founder, signed the letter that calls him the satoshi-maze puzzle designer.", LETTER, { date: "2020-01-23" }),
    fact("Launched the puzzle to show its Hierarchical Deterministic Cold Wallet System, with its CEO Jack Tao quoted on hot and cold wallets.", RULES, { date: "2020-01-16" }),
  ],
});