Pseudonymous blockchain investigator ZachXBT issued a warning about a group of scammers attempting to entrap more victims in a new fraud using millions of stolen funds.
In a thread on X, ZachXBT disclosed the findings of an investigation over Leaper Finance, a lending protocol based on Blast. According to the analysis, the group is behind several rug pulls, including those that hit users of Magnate, Kokomo, Solfire, and Lendora.
The group’s strategy involves allowing the Total Value Locked (TVL) to grow significantly before executing a rug pull, a move characterized by sudden fund withdrawals from liquidity pools or project wallets, leaving investors with worthless assets.
The group has expanded its fraudulent activities to various blockchain networks, including Base, Solana, Scroll, Optimism, Arbitrum, Ethereum, and Avalanche. Losses attributed to the group exceed $20 million.
Upon the exposure of Leaper Finance’s connection to the scams, the group responded by harassing ZachXBT and announcing a token launch. The reference to the North Korean hacker group Lazarus suggests a brazen attitude toward their illicit activities.
According to a Feb. 29 research report by blockchain security firm Immunefi, over $200 million worth of cryptocurrency was lost to hacks and rug pulls within the first two months of 2024 across 32 individual incidents.
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