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RiskOnBlast Project Facing Allegations of Rug Pull
The RiskOnBlast project, a gambling platform based on the Blast layer-2 ecosystem, has come under suspicion following the disappearance of its funds, website, and social media presence, raising concerns of a potential rug pull—the first of its kind on Blast.
Rug Pull Event Shocks Investors
Over the weekend, the highly anticipated Blast ecosystem experienced its first rug pull event, leaving investors reeling as a project vanished after raising over 420 ether (ETH), equivalent to $1.3 million at current prices, from retail traders.
- During its presale token event, which commenced on February 22 and concluded the following day, GambleFi, the parent project of RiskOnBlast, managed to raise 420 Ether, equivalent to $1.25 million, for its RISK token.
- However, on February 25, the team behind the project transferred the funds in batches of Dai to ChangeNOW, a non-custodial cryptocurrency exchange.
Suspicions and Investigations
The anonymity of the RiskOnBlast team, coupled with the sudden disappearance of its social media accounts, has raised concerns among investors. Onchain researcher SomaXBT revealed that funds from over 750 wallets were stolen, with a portion of the stolen funds being sent to swapping services and crypto exchanges.
Adding to the suspicions, Etherscan flagged the project’s address as a phishing scam, cautioning users to exercise vigilance when interacting. Furthermore, Coinbase tech lead Andrew Choi issued an alert on February 25, noting the sudden disappearance of the project’s website and social media presence.
Community Response and Recovery Efforts
A rug pull, or exit scam, involves a team raising funds from the public by selling a token, only to shut down operations abruptly. Blast, an Ethereum layer-2 project, has garnered significant attention, attracting over $1 billion in capital in recent months ahead of its launch.
In response to the alleged rug pull, the crypto community has rallied to track down the missing funds. Victims, including non-fungible token investor “MoonCat2878,” have pledged to donate 1 ETH to blockchain sleuth ZachXBT and have also offered to hand over $12,500 to assist in the recovery of lost funds should they be retrieved. Another victim disclosed losses amounting to $10,000.
Meanwhile, Blast announced on Saturday via an X post that it had selected 47 projects as winners of its developer competition from a pool of 3,000 applications. These teams will receive undisclosed funding in the coming months to support the development of the ecosystem on the new blockchain.
Ian is a cryptocurrency enthusiast blending humor with professionalism. With an engineering background and a storyteller's heart, he simplifies the blockchain world with sharp analysis and a touch of wit. At Cryptowire, he brings his unique perspective to make digital financial innovation accessible to all.
