A cryptocurrency developer’s shocking admission has laid bare what many in the crypto world already suspected: rug pulls are the express lane to getting rich quick. In a world where over 117,000 scam tokens were released in 2022 alone, this confession feels less like a bombshell and more like stating the obvious.
The numbers are staggering. Nearly 15 new scam tokens every single hour in 2022. Two million victims left holding worthless digital tokens. Over $500 million vanished into thin air through memecoin rug pulls in 2024. Just like OneCoin’s $4 billion vanished when its founder disappeared in 2017, leaving investors devastated. It’s like watching a magic trick, except the only thing disappearing is people’s money.
The developer’s candid admission comes as no surprise to those tracking the evolution of these schemes. These days, the playbook is painfully predictable: flashy websites, vague roadmaps that promise the moon, and armies of paid influencers hyping the next “sure thing.” Unlike security tokens, these scam projects lack any real-world asset backing, making them particularly vulnerable to manipulation.
The scammers have gotten smarter, but their endgame remains the same – pull the rug, grab the cash, disappear into the crypto ether.
Take the recent Libertad project’s Solana token. It shot up to a mind-boggling $4.56 billion market cap in February 2025, only to crash 94% after Argentina’s president deleted a single social media post. Talk about a house of cards.
What’s truly fascinating is how these scams keep working despite everyone knowing better. The tactics have shifted from targeting DeFi protocols to focusing on memecoins. Why? Because apparently, nothing sells like a cute dog-themed token with zero utility.
While the frequency of rug pulls has dropped from 21 incidents in early 2024 to seven in 2025, the financial impact remains devastating. Some traders actually manage to profit from these schemes – like the lucky soul who walked away with $988K in three hours.
But for most investors, it’s a brutal lesson in crypto economics. The developer’s admission isn’t just a confession – it’s a stark reminder that in the wild west of cryptocurrency, the fastest path to riches often leads straight through someone else’s wallet.
