Brothers

Ian and Dylan Macalinao, who used a web of secret identities to juice the value of a Solana DeFi project, are “no longer affiliated with” Protagonist VC, ...

CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of [Digital Currency Group](https://dcg.co/), which invests in [cryptocurrencies](https://dcg.co/#digital-assets-portfolio) and blockchain [startups](https://dcg.co/portfolio/). [strict set of editorial policies](/ethics/). In a never-published blog post Ian wrote after one of those projects imploded, he described a “scheme” to double-count deposits using platforms built by anonymous profiles that were actually him. Part of the allure of Saber was the interlocking DeFi lego bricks that surrounded it: projects like Sunny, Quarry, Cashio, Goki, and Tribeca. A spokesperson declined to provide a date for their departure but said the brothers are not investors in Protagonist. The brothers did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.