Another Rug Pull? Ben.ETH-Linked Token Drained of $100K

A latest incident raises further questions about the influencer’s past crypto projects and his credibility.

Two hackers sitting on a sofa hacking on their laptops in a rug shop.
Created by Gabor Kovacs from DailyCoin
  • DAVE, a new meme-coin with Ben.ETH as advisor, lost over $100K to a bot attack.
  • This event follows several other dubious crypto projects linked to Ben.ETH.
  • Questions are rising about the influencer’s credibility and the viability of his advised projects.

In another questionable episode in the cryptosphere, Ben.ETH, a prominent crypto influencer, was in the hot seat again. DAVE, a token with links to the controversial influencer, suffered a major attack. 

On Friday, June 2, anonymous developers launched the meme coin DAVE, with Ben.ETH serving as their advisor. According to Arkham Intelligence, just minutes after the launch suspected hackers drained the token for over $100K. 

The Exploitation of ‘DAVE’

Following the initial hype, the DAVE token immediately fell victim to a snipe-and-dump attack by an MEV Bot within minutes of its release. The bot reportedly spent just over $10 to extract over $100K in WETH (Wrapped Ether) from DAVE and another project by Ben.ETH, PSYOP.

This event came about as the deployers of DAVE created two pools: one for buying DAVE with ETH, where the DAVE price was essentially 0, and another pool to trade between DAVE and PSYOP, where the price of DAVE was not zero. 

According to on-chain data, an MEV bot exploited the situation. The bot acquired its DAVE from the first pool and drained the PSYOP in the second pool.

This isn’t the first time Ben.ETH was associated with dubious activity in the crypto world. For instance, past projects like $BEN, $PSYOP, and $LOYAL all ended in notorious ‘rug pulls’, leaving investors with worthless tokens while the influencer allegedly profited.

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These exploits have raised red flags among participants in the crypto space, sparking debates about the legitimacy of Ben.ETH’s involvement in these projects. As these questionable occurrences increase, trust in the influencer appears to be dwindling.

On the Flipside

  • The circumstances of the attack raise questions over potential insider involvement. However, there is currently no proof either way. 
  • Despite the skepticism, Ben.ETH still retains a significant following in the crypto community.

Why This Matters

Investors should exercise due diligence when investing in projects with no use cases and questionable tokenomics. The hype that these projects sometimes generate rarely outweighs the risk to investors.

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Read more about Ben.ETH and one of his projects:

PEPE Challenged: Memecoin $BEN 92% Surge Leads To Maker Roast

Read more about the latest trends in the Chinese market: 

Looking at Crypto’s Major Shift Towards China: TechFlow Report

This article is for information purposes only and should not be considered trading or investment advice. Nothing herein shall be construed as financial, legal, or tax advice. Trading forex, cryptocurrencies, and CFDs pose a considerable risk of loss.

Author
David Marsanic

David Marsanic is a journalist for DailyCoin who covers the intersection of crypto, traditional finance, and government. He focuses on institutionalized crypto entities like major cryptocurrency exchanges and Solana, breaking down complex topics into easy-to-understand writing. David's prior experience as a business journalist at various crypto and traditional news sites has enabled him to maintain a critical approach to news while adhering to high journalistic integrity standards.