The curious creator behind BALD, a token that took the crypto scene by storm in recent months, has moved approximately $12 million in ETH back to the Ethereum network. This occurred just weeks after BALD shot up to an $80 million market cap before some manoeuvres plunged prices by a gut-wrenching 90%. Lookonchain data reveals the BALD token initiator bridged an impressive 7,000 ether (valued at $12.9M) from the Base network back to Ethereum yesterday, marking a pivotal shift in capital movements between blockchains.
Moreover, the initiator uploaded 2,100 ether (currently worth $3.87 million) to the crypto exchange Kraken. The Base network, a construct of crypto exchange Coinbase, was witnessing more outgoing payments, something it hadn’t done before, tells an inquiry from Dune Analytics.
BALD’s meteoric rise earlier in August, even before Base officially launched, was the stuff of legends. A trader’s viral post exclaiming his efforts of turning $500 into hundreds of thousands initiated a frenzy as BALD skyrocketed 4,000,000% in a matter of days. Optimistic traders poured $66 million in ETH into the ecosystem, seeing it as a way to extract gains from an otherwise tepid market.
BALD was seemingly invincible with limitless liquidity, a swelling community, an influx of rookie traders, and slight hopes of becoming the next SHIB. However, the excitement was short-lived. After the token’s creator abruptly removed millions in liquidity, BALD prices crashed, dropping by as much as 90%. Fear overtook ambition as traders scrambled to exit amid the turmoil, tarnishing BALD’s heroic image.
The initiator’s actions sparked confusion, as they had previously added nearly $35 million in ether to a liquidity pool on Leetswap, an exchange running on the Base network. This created an illusion of a well-capitalized project, fuelling the initial hype. Profits may have also been earned from transaction fees when supplying ether against BALD tokens, and from trading ether for BALD as its value rose.
Remaining nonchalant after the price drop, the developer tweeted regarding BALD, “This is a memecoin. There is no roadmap. The fundamental value of this token is $0… If you still decide to trade this token you will probably lose all your money.”
Detectives in the crypto world have linked BALD to Alameda Research, owned by Sam Bankman-Fried. This theory is based on wallet activity and ties to Alameda projects. Yet, the identity of the wealthy initiator, at the core of this dramatic surge and fall, remains unknown.
Source: Coindesk
