RiskOnBlast is suspected to have pulled the rug first on the blast after a $1m pre-sale.
The RiskOnBlast project, a gambling platform based on the Blast Layer-2 ecosystem, has been suspected of being the first carpet-puller in the blast following the disappearance of its funds, website and social media presence.
According to Arkham Intelligence, RiskOnBlast's balances were reduced to zero after the funds were apparently withdrawn on February 25.
The GambleFi project raised $1.25 million worth of 420 Ether (ETH) for its RISK presale, which started on February 22 and ended the next day. However, the group has since moved the funds in Dai (DAI) batches to ChangeNOW, a non-custodial crypto exchange.
What's more, Eterscan spoofed the project's address as a phishing scam and urged users to “use caution when interacting with it.”
Coinbase tech lead Andrew Choi was among those who issued a warning that the project's website and social media presence was down on February 25.
Did @RiskOnBlast really pull the rug by deleting their website, twitter, discord after raising 1M+ in pre-sale on Blast L2? pic.twitter.com/IrhgAfLd9s
— andrewchoi.sol (@AndrewChoi5) February 25, 2024
On February 25, blockchain sleuth Amir Ormu reported that the RiskOnBlast team laundered $850,000 in stolen funds using ChangeNOW as a mixer to hide the transaction trail. Funds sent to MEXC and Baybit exchanges.
The RiskOnBlast team has laundered $850k of the stolen funds so far using ChangeNOW.
I found the final destination address of their work that they tried to hide using Chane as a mixer: https://t.co/u3ZPNARWVU
Hopefully this will help other sleuths track them down. pic.twitter.com/rHYiZgbMja
— Amir Ormu (@AmirOrmu) February 25, 2024
The crypto community has rallied to help track down the money found in the wake of the suspected carpet-dragging. One of the victims of the $12,500 loss scam, indomitable token investor “MoonCat2878” donated 1 ETH to blockchain sleuth ZachXBT, who previously worked on tracking and recovering stolen crypto.
Another victim reported losses of up to $10,000.
According to screenshots shared by users, RiskOnBlast was announced on February 12 by the blast team. The red flags were raised by the small group of three people behind the gambling project, whose identities have not been made public.
Officially approved protocol by Blast 1.5M. pic.twitter.com/TCzSklUwkb
– Prince of Prosperity | Revelation (@DextMoon) February 25, 2024
Cointelegraph reached out to Blast for comment and did not receive an immediate response.
RELATED: How Scammers Exploited 42K Victims Using FOMO and Deceptive Codes
The Explosion Protocol is a scalable solution for the Ethereum network, providing native products to users who stake their funds. It was announced in mid-November and has since amassed $2 billion in total valuation, mostly locked in from airdrop hunters after promising that the platform would land in May.
However, the platform has been plagued by some bugs and controversies in the months since its announcement.
Magazine: OKX token's $6.5B flash crash, crypto exec ‘Mr Bang' on the run: Asia Express
