NEIRO, a meme coin launched on the Solana blockchain, is currently facing scrutiny due to allegations of insider trading and market manipulation. Analyzing data from BubbleMaps and LookOnChain revealed concerning details about the distribution and trading practices of the token, suggesting a potential rug pull. On July 27, 78% of NEIRO’s supply was quickly acquired by 80 addresses, who then spread the tokens across 400 different wallets to obscure their control and profits. Despite efforts to conceal their actions, approximately 11.7% of the supply has been sold, totaling $4.5 million at an average market cap of $40 million. These initial pre-allocations and subsequent trading behaviors have led to widespread accusations of insider manipulation, which appears to be the case based on recent reports and analyses.
BubbleMaps conducted a detailed analysis of over 10,000 NEIRO transactions on the Ethereum blockchain, revealing highly concentrated ownership with 78% of the supply distributed across 350 wallets. This distribution pattern suggests intentional efforts by insiders to maintain dominance over the circulation and value of the token. Insiders sold around $4 million worth of NEIRO through 2,500 meticulously executed transactions across various decentralized and centralized exchanges, including Uniswap V2, V3, 0x, Kyber, Lbank, MXC, and Poloniex, further complicating the tracking of their activities. The deliberate actions taken by insiders highlight the extent of control they have over NEIRO’s market dynamics and value.
An additional investigation by LookOnChain uncovered that the NEIRO developer experienced a significant return on their investment, making a 5,169x profit on their initial investment by purchasing 97.5 million NEIRO tokens for just 3 SOL ($552) and subsequently selling 68 million NEIRO through multiple wallets, realizing a profit of 15,508 SOL ($2.85 million). The developer also sent 10 million NEIRO to a dead wallet, leaving them with an unrealized profit of $1.8 million from the remaining 19.5 million tokens. This substantial profit margin has raised suspicions of a potential rug pull, where insiders sell a large portion of their tokens and abandon the project, jeopardizing the integrity of the investment for other holders.
Despite allegations of insider trading and market manipulation, NEIRO’s current trading price stands at $0.15, with a recent 3.90% increase in value over the last 24 hours. While the token has exceeded a $100 million market cap milestone, its growth remains heavily influenced by insider control. On the day of its launch, 80 addresses simultaneously acquired 77.7% of the supply, each holding approximately 1% to avoid detection. These insiders have already realized significant profits of $4.5 million while controlling 66% of the token’s supply. Further investigations suggest Wallet 0xfbe1 as a potential insider wallet, which purchased $50 worth of NEIRO (10 million tokens) shortly after its creation, resulting in a 2,200% surge in value. The lack of response from the NEIRO team to the allegations indicates a potential rug pull scenario.
Despite the relatively small percentage of fraud, scams, and rug pulls compared to other incidents, totaling only 1.1% ($3 million) of total losses as of July 2024, they still pose a significant threat to the integrity of the industry. This year has seen a dominance of hacks, but rug pulls like NEIRO also undermine trust in the cryptocurrency space. As the community awaits a response from the NEIRO team regarding the allegations of insider trading and potential market manipulation, the future of the token remains uncertain amidst concerns of a rug pull. The need for transparency, accountability, and oversight within the industry is underscored by incidents like these, highlighting the risks associated with investing in volatile and unregulated markets.
