The meme cryptocurrency, Bald (BALD), recently listed on Coinbase’s Base, Ethereum Layer 2, experienced an abrupt rug pull resulting in its value plunging to zero. The move came just hours after the token’s deployer allegedly pulled millions in liquidity.
Coincidentally, an investigative trail leads back to Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX, now under house arrest.
An Unexpected Crash?
BALD was propelled from a non-existent market cap to $85 million within 48 hours. Yet, all these gains disappeared almost instantly as the token now trades at zero.
A rug pull, a scam that involves the hype of a project to attract investors before the developers sell or remove all of its liquidity, has been suggested as the reason for this sudden downturn.
The BALD/WETH trading pair on LeetSwap, at the time this article is written, also trades at near zero, further suggesting the likelihood of a rug pull.
The Suspicious Trail Leading to Bankman-Fried
Blockchain analysts speculate that the liquidity withdrawal could be tied to Sam Bankman-Fried, the former FTX CEO who is currently under house arrest with restricted internet access. Some point to the fact that the same wallet address was previously involved with the SushiSwap community, where Bankman-Fried was heavily involved previously.
Adam Cochran, a partner at Cinneamhain Ventures, highlighted the suspicious early votes on sushi governance, pointing out that at the time, “SBF was the one posting to snapshot votes.“
Adding fuel to the fire, other Twitter users have observed phrases used by the BALD Twitter account that align closely with those used by Bankman-Fried. Moreover, there were transactions involving the BALD developer’s Binance wallet that align with Bankman-Fried’s court and bail dates.
Bankman-Fried, after his company FTX collapsed, was charged with eight counts of conspiracy and fraud by the U.S. Department of Justice in November.
An Ongoing Investigation Amid Speculations
While the allegations pointing towards Bankman-Fried remain speculative, most agree that the wallet involved belongs to someone from his inner circle. Some suggest it could be Sam Trabucco, co-chief executive of Alameda.
On-chain data shows connections between the BALD’s deployer contract and a wallet tagged as belonging to Alameda Research, the trading company founded by Bankman-Fried.
Igor Igamberdiev, Wintermute’s head of research, tied another wallet to Alameda and suggested that while the actions were consistent with Alameda, it’s less likely that Bankman-Fried was the person involved.
This is a developing story.
This article is published on BitPinas: Bald Token Price Tanks to Near Zero: Is the FTX Founder Involved?
Disclaimer: BitPinas articles and its external content are not financial advice. The team serves to deliver independent, unbiased news to provide information for Philippine-crypto and beyond.
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