The crypto community buzzed recently, as investors reported substantial losses following the botched launch of Pond0X (PNDX), a memecoin developed by pseudonymous Not Larva Labs founder “Pauly.” Anonymous developer Pauly, known by his X username, is also the mastermind behind an NFT trading app for CryptoPunks and its parody collection, CryptoPhunks.
Investors took to social media after the PNDX launch, sharing horror stories of losses estimated at over $2.2 million. According to data from the trading app Maestrobots, PNDX rapidly plummeted from a high of $0.36 down to near-zero within a five-minute span.
The method Pauly used to launch PNDX sparked confusion and contributed to the financial debacle. Pauly made the PNDX tokens available for minting via a web app, using ETH as currency. However, people assumed the launch would take place on Uniswap, an assumption encouraged by the simultaneous listing of the website and contract address in a single post.
This double avenue launch had a destabilizing effect on the new coin’s viability. Users who understood they could mint new PNDX tokens for a fixed ETH amount did so and quickly sold their minted tokens to a receptive, if latterly disappointed, market. Others, assuming a Uniswap launch, purchased the token via bot trading apps like Maestrobots and Team Unibot.
The resultant surge in demand led some to invest heavily. A user confessed on social media, “I put $50,000 and now it’s worth $10 dollars,” while another lamented a staggering loss, stating, “That’s nothing, I just aped 2.5 million dollars and it’s [now]15 cents.”
Another contributor to the coin’s abrupt fall from grace is a glitch in its transfer function. In a disturbing twist, it apparently permits a PNDX holder to transfer anyone else’s tokens, according to an analysis of blockchain data.
In a somewhat lackluster attempt at amends, memecoin holder RuneCrypto hinted at the creation of a new version of PNDX by the person responsible for the coin’s initial launch. Supposedly, this new project would feature a “dashboard” to offer some restitution to the inaugural coin’s victims via a “community coin.”
Considering the shrouded identities and nontransparent actions tinging the PNDX saga, it serves as a reminder to crypto users. Embrace due diligence, ensure you understand the launch process of any new coin, and always question a developer’s motives and capabilities prior to investing.
Source: Cointelegraph
