BALD, a meme-driven cryptocurrency with a tongue-in-cheek nod to the hairless image of Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, has experienced an alarming 89.4% drop in value. This drastic downturn was observed on CoinGecko following the sudden removal of $25.6 million in liquidity by the coin’s developer.
This act of ‘rug pulling,’ an infamous underhanded tactic endemic to the crypto sphere, has left the coin’s investors significantly out of pocket. Most prevalent in decentralized finance (DeFi) communities, rug pulling consists of developers launching a seemingly legitimate token, enticing investors with alluring promises, then abruptly withdrawing liquidity and disappearing.
The investors were initially lured to an exciting new platform, Base, which amplified the hype around new tokens. One of these tokens, BALD, spiked an astonishing 30,000% in a single day, alluring traders to buy new tokens via the decentralized exchange LeetSwap. Sadly, it was later revealed that BALD had fallen victim to a rug pull.
As to who might be behind this crypto heist, former FTX CEO, Sam Bankman–Fried, finds himself under the blockchain community’s suspicion. Despite his current situation of house arrest with limited internet access, his potential involvement is speculated due to past links with the same wallet address used in the BALD debacle, which was involved in the SushiSwap community years ago. As of the time of writing, neither Bankman–Fried nor his Alameda company have responded to requests for comment.