Robinhood Chain Rug-Pull Crew Amasses Estimated $15.5M Through 56 Memecoin Launches

A blockchain investigation has uncovered a massive rug-pull operation on Robinhood Chain, involving at least 56 memecoin launches. According to Bitquery's analysis, the group's estimated take is around $15.5 million, with some estimates suggesting they may have made as much as $18.43 million.

The investigation found that the majority of the activity was happening on Pons, a token launchpad that runs on Robinhood Chain. The platform uses a bonding curve to sell new tokens, allowing early buyers to get them at low prices. However, the platform charges a 99% tax on initial purchases, which is then reduced to zero within five seconds.

Bitquery discovered that one wallet related to the group funded the opening of 92 new addresses just before the launch of DEED on September 21. The next block saw 25 tax-exempt wallets purchase two-thirds of the entire supply, leaving no room for other buyers to get tokens at launch prices.

The investigation also found that Pons managed to gather only a mere 1.9 ETH in snipe tax from the total 35 launches associated with the group, indicating that the exemptions greatly diminished the effectiveness of the tax to prevent early sniping.