Sashkin
The developers of a non-fungible token collection called Frosties vanished in a potential «rug pull» after buyers put in $1.3 million into the digital collectible.
The anonymous creators reportedly disappeared on their investors who had purchased all 8,888 tokens on January 9 via OpenSea, according to Blockworks, less than an hour after the cartoon ice cream collection dropped.
It is estimated that the creators earned $1.3 million in ethereum based on its wallet. At that time, the tokens had a floor price average of 0.04 ETH (roughly $135). As of publishing, it has slipped to 0.002 ETH (roughly $7).
The Frosties incident may be among the first known rug pulls this year, a type of scam in which creators quickly cash out their gains after launching what appears to be a legitimate crypto project.
At present, the developers of Frosties have closed down their Twitter, Discord, and website, and removed their wallet from OpenSea, Blockworks reported.
But the supposed victims of the scam were not discouraged. Many flocked to a new Discord group immediately after the incident with the goal of «unrugging the Frosties» and retrieving their funds.
NFTs — digital representations of artwork, sports cards, or other collectibles tied to a blockchain — have surged in popularity in the past year as investors from Wall Street and Hollywood get onboard.
And as the market continues to boom, scams are also on the rise. Last year, the estimated value of rug pull scams totaled $2.8 billion, according to Chainsalysis.
Read more on markets.businessinsider.com