Cointime

Cointime

Download App
iOS & Android

10 NFT Rug Pulls You Should Have Seen Coming

Validated Media

Unfortunately, rug pulls are a common occurrence in the crypto industry, and the NFT niche is no different. To stop you from getting duped this way, let’s check out some of the most obvious red flags, as well as the biggest scams to date. 

What are the red flags?

Pay attention to these:

  • Research the founding team – check social media pages and LinkedIn profiles. A doxed team is always a safer bet than an anonymous one.
  • Check the website of the project – does it seem amateurish, is it slow, or riddled with spelling mistakes?
  • Check for disproportionate numbers of social media followers – a smaller number of Twitter followers coupled with a huge following on Discord could be an indication that the team is purchasing bots to generate artificial interest.
  • Analyze the purchase history with NFT explorer – a useful tool that provides data and metrics (including sales activity) with corresponding wallet IDs. 

Now, on to the most infamous NFT rug pulls:

1. Frosties

The Ethereum-based NFT collection is one of the most notable NFT scams of 2022 in which $1.1M was stolen. 

This one is scary because the project looked trustworthy and offered serious potential for investors and holders. For instance, investors were promised tokens, rewards, as well as access to a game that was supposedly planned.

However, once Frosties Discord vanished along with the Twitter profile, it became apparent that investors were victims of a scam.

2. Bored Bunny

This NFT collection gained a lot of traction due to hype from celebrities such as Floyd Mayweather and Jake Paul. 

After the entire collection sold out, investors soon realized the floor prices went down and the creators went missing. Around $21M was stolen. 

There were a couple of red flags from the beginning that many have overlooked. For instance, a wallet belonging to the developer was buying up celebrity NFTs before the launch itself. This is one of the reasons why you should always keep track of the purchase history of NFTs you’re looking to buy.

3. Big Daddy Ape Club

Earlier this year, one of the biggest NFT rug pulls on the Solana blockchain happened when people behind Big Daddy Ape Club NFTs ran off with $1.3M. 

Because everything ape-themed sells out like hotcakes, so did this collection. Collectors sent in funds to mint these NFTs – which never existed.

The concerning thing about this particular scam is that the NFT drop was verified by a company called Civic, a decentralized identity verification company.

4. Blockverse

Created by an anonymous team, Blockverse quickly sold out – although the team behind them wasn’t doxed.

Developers simply disappeared with the money after erasing both their website and the Discord server from existence. The project generated around $1.9M in trading volume, making it one of the most notorious NFT rug pulls ever.

5. Swipathefox

NBA basketball player De’Aaron Fox stole over $1.5M through his Swipathefox project. 

He offered exclusive perks like giveaways and exclusive chats with himself along with the opportunity to own 6000 one-of-a-kind fox-themed NFTs. 

Fox stated that he stretched himself too thin by launching the project in the middle of an NBA season.

6. Mercenary

Despite heavy promotion on sites like BSC News, a medieval-themed NFT game Mercenary ended in a rug pull.

Everything connected to it was completely wiped from the internet, with only a trail of paid promotions on Twitter remaining as proof this project ever existed.

The team behind this game ran off with around $760k. 

7. Baller Ape Club & Evolved Apes

Another set of ape-themed NFTs turned out to be a scam as the creator of these two projects stole around $4.7M from collectors.

Collectors reportedly noticed red flags from the beginning but were convinced these NFTs would be the next best thing. 

The creator, appropriately named ‘’Evil Ape’’, erased all social media platforms after the public mint, scamming both the community and the artist.

8. Eternal Beings

Another celebrity that’s become infamous for NFT scams is rapper Lil Uzi. The Eternal Beings collection quickly sold out after he hyped it up to around 8M of his Twitter followers. 

Not long afterward, Uzi deleted all the posts about Eternal Beings and completely abandoned the project.

As a result, the price of the NFTs dropped from its average mint price of 2.5 SOL to around 0.13 SOL, which at the time of writing is around $0.035.

9. Doodled Dragons

Doodled Dragons were sold for a very low price of around 1.50 SOL, and the project’s founder claimed they will donate all the proceeds to charity.

It all turned out to be a scam after the founder tweeted that the charity of choice was his bank account. Reportedly, they ran off with $30k.

10. Doodle Apes

In the case of this NFT collection on the Binance Smart Chain, the team was legitimate – but the founder was a known scammer. 

Going by the name of Jinx, they repeatedly used mint revenue from abandoned projects to start new ones – Doodle Apes included. While they technically did pay the community, they still decided to ignore the roadmap promises.

Luckily, a new investor decided to take over the entire project and is moving the NFTs to a new contract address.

NFT
Comments

All Comments

Recommended for you

  • Indian billionaire Adani summoned by US SEC to explain position on bribery case

    Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and his nephew, Sahil Adani, have been subpoenaed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to explain allegations of paying over $250 million in bribes to win solar power contracts. According to the Press Trust of India (PTI), the subpoena has been delivered to the Adani family's residence in Ahmedabad, a city in western India, and they have been given 21 days to respond. The notice, issued on November 21 by the Eastern District Court of New York, states that if the Adani family fails to respond on time, a default judgment will be made against them.

  • U.S. Congressman: SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce may become the new acting chairman of the SEC

    US Congressman French Hill revealed at the North American Blockchain Summit (NABS) that Republican SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce is "likely" to become the new acting chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He noted that current chair Gary Gensler will step down on January 20, 2025, and the Republican Party will take over the SEC, with Peirce expected to succeed him.

  • Tether spokesperson: The relationship with Cantor is purely business, and the claim that Lutnick influenced regulatory actions is pure nonsense

     a spokesperson for Tether stated: "The relationship between Tether and Cantor Fitzgerald is purely a business relationship based on managing reserves. Claims that Howard Lutnick's joining the transition team in some way implies an influence on regulatory actions are baseless."

  • Bitwise CEO warns that ETHW is not suitable for all investors and has high risks and high volatility

    Hunter Horsley, CEO of Bitwise, posted on X platform that he was happy to see capital inflows into Bitwise's Ethereum exchange-traded fund ETHW, iShares, and Fidelity this Friday. He reminded that ETHW is not a registered investment company under the U.S. Investment Company Act of 1940 and therefore is not protected by the law. ETHW is not suitable for all investors due to its high risk and volatility.

  • Musk said he liked the "WOULD" meme, and the related tokens rose 400 times in a short period of time

    Musk posted a picture on his social media platform saying he likes the "WOULD" meme. As a result, the meme coin with the same name briefly surged. According to GMGN data, the meme coin with the same name created 123 days ago surged over 400 times in a short period of time, with a current market value of 4.5 million US dollars. Reminder to users: Meme coins have no practical use cases, prices are highly volatile, and investment should be cautious.

  • Victory Securities: Funding Rates halved and fell, Bitcoin's short-term direction is not one-sided

    Zhou Lele, the Vice Chief Operating Officer of Victory Securities, analyzed that the macro and high-level negative impact risks in the cryptocurrency market have passed. The risks are now more focused on expected realization, such as the American entrepreneur Musk and the American "Efficiency Department" (DOGE) led by Ramaswamy. After media reports, the increase in Dogecoin ($DOGE) was only 5.7%, while Dogecoin rose by 83% in the week when the US election results were announced. Last week, the net inflow of off-exchange Bitcoin ETF was US$1.67 billion, and the holdings of exchange contracts and CME contracts remained high, but the funding rates halved and fell back, indicating that the direction of Bitcoin in the short term is not one-sided, and bears are also accumulating strength.

  • ECB board member Villeroy: Falling inflation allows ECB to cut interest rates

     ECB board member Villeroy de Galhau said in an interview that the decline in inflation allows the ECB to lower interest rates. In addition, the slow pace of price increases compared to average wages is also a factor in the rate cut. Villeroy de Galhau emphasized that the ECB's interest rate policy decision is independent of the Fed. Evidence shows that the ECB began to lower interest rates in early June, while the Fed lowered interest rates three months later. With the decline in inflation, we will be able to continue to lower interest rates. Currently, the market generally expects the ECB to cut interest rates by 25 basis points at the next meeting in December, but weaker data increases the possibility of a 50 basis point cut.

  • Coindesk ·

    Careers in Crypto: 5 Insights for 2024

    In an overwhelming job market, leaning into personal networks and connections are more important than ever. Emily Landon, CEO of The Crypto Recruiters, outlines what is happening in the crypto job market and how you can position yourself or your company in 2024.

    Careers in Crypto: 5 Insights for 2024

  • Cointime August 10th News Express

    1. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service has released a new draft of the crypto tax form, which no longer requires filling in wallet addresses and transaction IDs

  • Adidas and Doodles collaborate to launch a limited edition NFT collection pack

    Sportswear giant Adidas is collaborating with Ethereum NFT series Doodles to sell virtual gift packages that support buyers in purchasing exclusive physical clothing. Adidas and Doodles stated in a joint statement that these limited edition collectible packages will be available for purchase before August 16th, with two items in each package. The Adidas Originals x Doodles online store shows that the retail price for a single package is $4.99, while the price for 2 to 100 packages ranges from $8.49 to $374.99.Some joint sets include physical collectibles featuring Deysi, the digital mascot in Pharrell Williams and Coi Leray's new song "Not in the Store". These collectibles include Deysi sportswear and Superstar shoes, with each limited to 200 pieces.

Daily Must-Read

Popular Activities

Delysium $AGI & AI Private Yacht Party

Delysium $AGI & AI Private Yacht Party

March 27 - March 27
Seoul

Popular Tags

Cointime
News
Contents
RSS
Company