The launch of memecoin Pond0x has led to thousands and thousands of {dollars} in losses for buyers, in keeping with a number of studies on social media on July 28. Knowledge from the Maestro trading app exhibits that the Pond0x (PNDX) token reached a worth of $0.36 earlier than collapsing to close zero in a span of 5 minutes.
Maestro chart of PNDX/USD throughout its launch. Supply: Maestro
The launch of Pond0x was introduced on July 28 by Jeremy Cahen, the founding father of Not Larva Labs who is healthier recognized by his Twitter username “Pauly.” Not Larva Labs is the developer of a nonfungible token trading app for CryptoPunks and for a separate parody assortment known as CryptoPhunks. It isn’t related to Larva Labs, the creators of CryptoPunks.
Within the announcement, Cahen listed the contract tackle for PNDX and the URL for its official net app.
Welcome To Pond0x https://t.co/iSiwpRDrix • $PNDX
Contract: 0x1d4214081985ad20aa3ca93a2206ae792635cbec
️ pic.twitter.com/UokLAHPaSn
— PAULY (@Pauly0x) July 28, 2023
The net app contained a Pepe meme graphic, just like those utilized in profitable memecoins like Pepecoin (PEPE). The app allowed customers to mint new PNDX tokens in alternate for a hard and fast quantity of Ether (ETH), just like a presale or fundraiser. Nevertheless, many customers anticipated the fundraiser to be accomplished on Uniswap, and the itemizing of each the website and the contract tackle in the identical publish precipitated confusion, in keeping with social media studies.
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Some customers bought the token on Uniswap by way of bot trading apps like Maestro or Unibot, growing its worth. In the meantime, different customers minted tokens utilizing the online app and bought them into the market at a revenue.
Customers who misplaced crypto complained that they had misplaced hundreds and even thousands and thousands of {dollars}. In reply to Cahen’s preliminary publish, one Pepecoin fanatic complained, “WTH !!!! I simply bought wrecked !!! 4eth [$7,484] value like $0 !!” One other collector acknowledged, “I put $50,000 and now it’s value $10 {dollars},” which provoked one more collector to answer, “That’s nothing, I simply aped 2.5 million {dollars} and it’s [now]15 cents.”
In accordance with a report from memecoin holder Rune, buyers misplaced over $2.2 million within the launch.
Pauly time rugged for every week, and fucked up so onerous that close to everybody misplaced cash in $PNDX
He pasted a contract and a website. On the website individuals may mint tokens, nevertheless it was like a presale. Some random dude added liquidity proper after minting, and everybody began shopping for… pic.twitter.com/iETfmRpVXn
— Rune (@RuneCrypto_) July 28, 2023
One other consumer reported that PNDX has a defective switch operate that permits customers to switch cash from every other consumer. Blockchain knowledge exhibits that the switch operate for the coin is uncommon. As a substitute of containing a line of code that updates the consumer’s steadiness, it calls a separate “brutalized_” operate.
The code of the switch operate within the PNDX token contract. Supply: Etherscan
Cointelegraph couldn’t decide the impact of the brutalized_ operate by the time of publication.
About two hours after the preliminary publish, Rune supplied an up to date report that acknowledged a brand new model of PNDX is being created by the one that initially drained the cash from buyers. In accordance with Rune, the brand new undertaking will present a “dashboard” to compensate victims by way of a “group coin.”
Memecoins, or cash related to a viral web picture or video, first got here to prominence with the launch of Dogecoin (DOGE) in 2013. They continue to be fashionable as we speak.
On June 7, a number of U.S. Securities and Change Commission-themed memecoins surged in worth after the company sued crypto exchanges Coinbase and Binance. On July 27, a number of alien-themed memecoins have been created and promoted on social media throughout a U.S. Home of Representatives listening to on unidentified flying objects.
Replace (July 29, 04:32 am UTC): This text has been up to date to reveal the id of “Pauly” as Jeremy Cahen.