ETHTrustFund Rug Pull: $2 Million Loss Shakes Base Network Community
In a shocking turn of events, the cryptocurrency community was rocked by yet another high-profile rug pull on July 22, 2024. ETHTrustFund, a project that had positioned itself as an OHM fork on the Base network, suddenly vanished, leaving investors with losses exceeding $2 million worth of Ethereum. The incident has sent ripples through the crypto sphere, highlighting the persistent risks associated with decentralized finance (DeFi) investments.
The project’s developer, known only as Peng, had been conspicuously absent for three months prior to the incident. Without warning, Peng moved funds from the treasury to a new wallet, siphoning exactly 607 ETH, equivalent to $2.1 million. This abrupt action raised immediate red flags within the community, with crypto figure Octoshi being among the first to sound the alarm about suspicious fund transfers and the project’s sudden inactivity.
Tracing the Stolen Funds
Blockchain security firm PeckShield swiftly confirmed the rug pull, corroborating their findings with data from Etherscan. The stolen funds were expertly maneuvered through a series of transactions designed to obscure their trail. Initially, the ETH was bridged from the Base network to the Ethereum mainnet. Subsequently, the ill-gotten gains were laundered using privacy-focused platforms Tornado Cash and Railgun, known for their ability to obfuscate transaction histories.
As news of the rug pull spread, investors scrambled to salvage what they could, only to find that ETHTrustFund’s website had gone offline and its social media accounts had been deleted. This complete erasure of the project’s digital footprint left many questioning how such a seemingly promising venture could turn out to be an elaborate scam.
A Troubling Trend on Base Network
The ETHTrustFund incident is not an isolated case but rather part of a disturbing trend of rug pulls plaguing the Base network. Last August, the community was stunned by the Magnet Finance rug pull, which resulted in losses of $6.4 million. These recurring incidents have raised serious concerns about the security and reliability of projects launching on the Base network.
As the dust settles on this latest scam, the crypto community is left to grapple with familiar questions about trust, due diligence, and the inherent risks of DeFi investments. The ETHTrustFund rug pull serves as a stark reminder of the importance of thorough research and skepticism in the volatile world of cryptocurrency, where the promise of high returns often comes hand in hand with the potential for significant losses.
