The Solana blockchain has been struck by a series of detrimental events, including a significant market downturn and a substantial memecoin presale scam operation. Crypto investigator ZachXBT has exposed various fraudulent activities concerning presale events of Solana-based memecoins. This resulted in substantial financial losses for investors, with fraudulent schemes amassing upwards of 796,000 SOL, equating to around $149.2 million.
Investors Suffer at the Hands of Presale Scandals
Investors have been swindled by a set of counterfeit accounts, with one in particular, falsely claiming to be Sartoshi0x, absconding with a large sum of SOL collected from presales, while failing to provide the promised tokens. Other incidents include impersonations of well-known crypto figures which have led to considerable financial damage for those investing in these ventures.
As trust in the Solana network and its new memecoins wanes, Anatoly Yakovenko, Solana’s co-founder, has cautioned investors about the risks associated with these projects. These scams have not only affected individual investors but have also triggered a downtrend in major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, with analysts suggesting a link between these declines and the instability within the Solana network.
Market Impact: SOL and Altcoins Take a Hit
Despite some recovery, SOL is facing continued selling pressure, trading at $171.31, marking a 7.50% decrease over the past day. The total value locked on the Solana platform has also experienced a significant drop, falling from over $4.5 billion to $3.86 billion. Other Solana-based altcoins, including Jupiter, Raydium, Orca, and Slerf have seen their prices plummet in the midst of these events.
Particularly, the Slerf project drew ire after a developer mistake involving the burning of presale and AirDrop tokens, which incurred heavy losses for stakeholders. Moreover, recent fluctuations in the prices of certain Solana-based memecoins like Bonk and Book of Meme have raised concerns over potential insider trading and manipulative market practices, prompting exchanges like Binance to carry out internal probes into these irregularities.
