- ETHTrustFund DAO allegedly stole $2M and laundered funds through mixer apps.
- Developer Peng went silent months earlier than the rug pull and deleted all accounts.
- In addition to ETHTrustFund, different current rug pulls in crypto embrace Gemholic and Ordiz, displaying rising fraud danger.
In a troubling growth for cryptocurrency traders, the ETHTrustFund DAO, a decentralized autonomous group (DAO) working on the Base community, has been accused of conducting a $2 million rug pull.
The allegations, substantiated by current stories by 0ctoshi, recommend that the undertaking executed a deliberate exit rip-off.
In response to an in depth report by blockchain safety agency PeckShield, ETHTrustFund transferred its whole treasury to a brand new pockets on July 20, 2024.
The funds have been subsequently moved by way of mixer functions, akin to Twister Money and Railgun, in an obvious try and obfuscate the path and launder the stolen belongings.
#PeckShieldAlert #rugpull @0ctoshi reported that @ethtrustfund_ rugged ~$2m value of cryptos on #Base.
The scammers have already bridged the stolen funds to #Ethereum & laundered them through #Tornadocash & #Railgun https://t.co/jmKVgiQb8C pic.twitter.com/MzJsvQ1pyV— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) July 22, 2024
The rise and fall of ETHTrustFund
ETHTrustFund, which had modeled itself after profitable initiatives like Olympus and Wonderland, initially attracted traders with guarantees of a novel rebase mechanism.
The undertaking was designed to supply blockchain-based bonds and subject new ETF tokens to customers who staked their holdings.
In contrast to conventional rebaseDAOs that regularly inflate their token provide, ETHTrustFund aimed to finally debase its tokens to extend the worth of the remaining provide, producing yield for its traders.
Nonetheless, the undertaking’s trajectory took a dramatic flip when lead developer Peng reportedly ceased communication with the group in April.
In response to Octoshi, Peng’s inactivity, coupled with the sudden disappearance of ETHTrustFund’s on-line presence, together with its web site and social media accounts, pointed in the direction of a possible exit rip-off.
Octoshi first highlighted the difficulty on July 21, 2024, reporting that the undertaking had moved over $2 million from its treasury to a recent pockets, and was draining the funds through Railgun Venture.
The undertaking’s official Telegram and social media accounts, beforehand managed by Peng, have been deleted.
Within the wake of those revelations, Octoshi urged the group to report the rip-off on Chainabuse, a platform devoted to documenting and combating fraudulent actions within the crypto house.
The Chainabuse report, created by consumer @cryptogle, confirmed the allegations and emphasised the undertaking’s abrupt disappearance.
The wake of exit scams in crypto
ETHTrustFund’s incident follows a sequence of comparable scams within the crypto trade.
In June, the Gemholic protocol confronted accusations of a $3.5 million exit rip-off, whereas March noticed the Ordiz bridge admin accounts executing a $1.4 million fraud.
These circumstances spotlight the persistent danger of rug pulls within the quickly evolving cryptocurrency panorama, underscoring the necessity for vigilance and thorough due diligence amongst traders.