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Within mere weeks of the Base blockchain becoming publicly accessible, it fell prey to opportunistic fraudsters, leading to the creation of over 500 counterfeit tokens. These scam tokens raked in an astounding $3.7 million in trading volume, according to a Solidus Labs investigation. Even more disheartening is the revelation that the perpetrators pocketed more than $2 million.
A Closer Look at the $2 Million Heist
The Solidus Labs report illuminates the cunning mechanisms employed. Roughly 300 scam tokens’ smart contracts were embedded with concealed functionalities, enabling malevolent creators to spawn limitless new coins. Another 70 were rigged with hidden transaction fees, and over 60 outright prohibited token sales.
Three primary tactics were leveraged by the fraudsters to amass their ill-gotten gains:
- Draining all liquidity from trading duos.
- Printing and unloading vast quantities of new coins, causing ETH trading pair imbalances.
- Resorting to ‘rag pools’.
By these means, Solidus estimates that these malicious actors accumulated around $2 million.
BALD Coin: The Catalyst behind Base’s Scam Tsunami
The overwhelming rise in scam tokens wasn’t the only cause for concern. Between mid-July and Base’s official launch in August, Solidus Labs pinpointed multiple misleadingly marketed cryptocurrencies.
Interestingly, Base’s early days, exclusive to developers, were relatively uneventful. However, the debut of the meme coin, BALD, revolutionized its status. In an unprecedented spree, it shot past stalwarts like Litecoin in terms of popularity and mentions. BALD’s value skyrocketed, touching $0.085 with a market cap of $85 million at its pinnacle.
But like all good things, BALD’s reign was short-lived. Days later, its value plummeted by 90% following a massive liquidity withdrawal by its developer.