The cryptocurrency has emerged as one of the most subversive techniques in the twenty -first century. With the availability of Blockchain to provide decentralization, transparency and safety, the tidal wave of retail investors has entered the encryption space, looking to capture the next bull cycle or discover the following distinctive symbol.
But not all this brilliance is gold. While Crypto has opened financial doors for many, it has also become a stadium for disbelievers, artists and opportunistic developers looking to exploit the noise.
During the year 2022, according to Solidus Labs risk monitoring company in Blockchain, more than 117,000 fraud code was launched at least 41 % compared to 2021. Nearly 15 new code for fraud every hour, with an estimated 2 million victims who lost money in the carpet alone.
These numbers show a bleak image: under Meme currencies, symbols that are saved by celebrities, and the height of the meteorite, found in the shadow world where fraud is often spread.
What is a rug pulling?
A “Plasting the rug” It may be the most widespread and dismantled fraud in the cryptocurrency community.
Basically, when the developers of the cryptocurrency project is usually a Defi or NFT symbol coming out of the project after taking the investor’s money, removing liquidity and leaving the codes that have no value behind it.
The term is derived from a metaphorical gesture to withdraw a carpet from the bottom of a person.
These fraud usually feed investors who have shiny webpages, dilapidated but vibrant road maps, and marketing the effect.
When the price and the project rises, the developers drain the money from the liquidity raising and disappear. Since many of these projects depend on decentralized networks such as ETHEREUM or Binance Smart, there is limited regulatory control and there is mainly the protection of customers.
How do you withdraw the rug?
Usually the carpet pull takes some familiar patterns:
- Liquidity theft: liquidity is drained by Devs from Dexs, so that investors cannot sell symbols.
- Honeypots: Smart contracts are programmed so that only white wallets (most often sell Devs) sell the distinctive symbol, leaving buyers stuck.
- Stricched gaps: Devs still has the ability to mint unlimited symbols, unwanted messages in the market and the value of killing.
- Soft Carpet: DEVS gradually emptying their symbols over the months instead of disappearing at night is less easy to locate, but with the same amount of harm.
Perhaps the biggest problem is that almost all rug withdrawals seem real to start. White is copied from successful projects, societies are created around a fake activity, and the influencers receive their salaries to noise without revealing cash interests.
This makes it difficult to distinguish between real innovation and flat fraud.
Effective fraud operations: coffee experience
One of the best examples of fraud affected by Coffezilla (Stephen Findeisen), a well -known journalist on YouTube and Crypto. In 2022, he put a trap by creating a false NFT project and asked MMA Fight Dillon Danis to promote it on Twitter for $ 1,000.
Danis took the taste without questioning anything or giving due care and most importantly, without revealing that it was a paid advertisement. The link he posted on Twitter did not direct him to the NFT project, but to a page with the message:
“I have just been deceived.” The site offered many symbols that Danis promoted earlier, the majority of which had rushed shortly after.
This trick was an invitation to wake up to retailers. If it is possible to purchase the influencers easily, how much do you believe their recommendations?
The worst tricky carpet in all ages
Let’s take a look at some of the most famous carpets that shook the world of encryption, to remind us all of why he warns caution in this field.
1. Onecoin – $ 4 billion
Founded in 2014 by Ruja Ignatova, Onecoin was marketed with Bassem “Bitcoin killer.” This was the next generation of cryptocurrency but had no Blockchain at all but SQL Servant Central. However, I managed to raise more than $ 4 billion of investors around the world.
Ignatova disappeared in 2017 when a trip to Greece was held and is still listed in The ten most desirable in the FBI. The fraud is now one of the largest financial fraud ever. Her brother, Konstantin Ignatov, became the company’s CEO and was arrested in 2019 on charges of fraud and money laundering.
2. Thodex – Exodus fraud with a development of $ 2 billion
Thodex, a Turkish cryptocurrency, stopped in 2017, stopped withdrawals in April 2021 and left the CEO of Faruk Father özer, the country with more than two billion dollars in customer funds. More than 400,000 users were affected, and a red notification was issued by Interpol.
In the development of fate, Ozer was arrested in Albania and was delivered to Türkiye, where he is currently facing the prison sentence of more than 40,000 years, commensurate with the risk of crime and the number of victims.
3. Anobesdao – 60 million dollars disappeared overnight
Anopisdao came out as Olymposdao thorn with a dog width. She got $ 60 million from ETH to sell her, although he had no white location or paper. Within only 20 hours after the sale, all the returns were diluted in one wallet and then went.
The founders were unknown, and the audience was shocking. The Anubisdao series was distinguished in the Defi Scam report, warning investors against searching for audit and transparency before trusting any Defi protocol.
4. Alkape game icon – MEME went wrong
Squid Token was released on the Binance Smart series, based on the famous Squid Show game and made a great sense in 2021. The project had a strait contract where individuals were able to buy but not sold.
Within a few days, the market value of the project amounted to $ 2.2 trillion (briefly), before it collapsed nearly zero after developers drained the liquidity group and stolen $ 3.3 million. Users caught the carpet on the live broadcast, and monitored their balances without strength.
5.
A Ape Ape Yacht Club (MayC), Mutant Ape Planet (MAP) rewards, Metaverse, and withdrawals. The project raised $ 2.9 million, only for the presence of its creator, Aurelian Michel, admits in a conversation that he collected society.
Michelle was arrested at JFK Airport and is connected to other NFT projects such as NFTS Ape Ape and Crazy Camels. His halves show the risks of unknown founders and the absence of organization in the NFT market.
2024: The year of the meme and the deceptive release
The bear market did not inhibit the fraudsters. In 2024, many metal currencies and the so -called community symbols carried out the withdrawal of the rug, despite the increase in vigilance. Here are some of the worst guilty so far this year:
1.
Al -Jump trade was claimed by a pump and discharge with the forced (DIO) icon. They got millions of distinctive liquidity symbols, and they have grown, claimed that the distinctive symbol through the influencers are sold at its highest levels ever, and it was purchased from its lowest levels-which indicates huge losses for retailers.
2. A reasonable currency (Solana)
Mimi Solana Blockchain, a reasonable currency has become a popular currency due to the noise -backed noise. After it reached its climax, the developers pulled all liquidity and disappeared. After that, analysts in the chain tracked the stolen money that is withdrawn to the central stock exchanges, is likely to be spent.
3. Distinguished symbol for Luk Tok
It was named after Tiktok Meme virus, Hawk Tuah Token overnight is viral. Telegram communities and Twitter effects promoted to the vector. But as soon as it was at its peak, the contract was drained and the liquidity was drained, leaving the suspicious supervisors of the supervisor that facilitated the carpet.
4. Sharpei code (Solana)
Other Solana Carpet, Sharpols supervise only money to disappear after launch. The presence of social media and the web site was erased, and investors were left in Lurch. No payable amounts, no word, no accountability.
5. Gunit Defi Rug
It was marketed as the DEFI Governance Protocol, Gunit benefited from the rear door in its smart contract. Millions were withdrawn from the contract through the rights of the supervisor. The developers said that it was a “penetration”, but the behavior on the series implicitly, as a planned theft was sent, as the money was sent through mixtures and private portfolios.
How to discover and avoid pulling the rug
- Team Transparency: If the team is unidentified or unwilling to duxe itself, be careful.
- Issue Auditing Operations: Look for smart contract audits from good reputable companies. Do not check = red flag.
- Liquidity lock: Ensure that liquidity is closed with services such as Unicrypt or Trustswap.
- Check the Tokenomics: Be careful if a high percentage of symbols sit in the Dev wallet.
- Avoid fomo: noise can be created. Think logically.
- Smart contract examination: Use tools like Rugdoc and Takensnifer to analyze contracts.
- Ignore the impressive noise: If someone screams “to the moon” without revealing care, then you are marketed so that you are not aware.
Final ideas
Curls are the dark satellite for a largely unorganized manufacturer. While decentralization is a basic value, it also removes safety networks. As long as people are chasing “Get-quick” plans and noise on research, the fraudsters will flourish.
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