Solana-Based Memecoin Rug Pulled By McDonald’s Hacker, Market Cap Collapses 98%
The cryptocurrency world has witnessed a rise in the popularity of memecoins in recent times. However, along with this surge, there has also been an increase in scams and rug pulls aimed at unsuspecting investors. The most recent victim of such a scam is GRIMACE, a Solana-based memecoin.
The whole incident began when hackers managed to gain access to McDonald’s official Instagram account and used the platform to promote the GRIMACE token. They spread false information, claiming that McDonald’s had introduced the GRIMACE memecoin on the Solana blockchain.
As a result, investors rushed to invest in GRIMACE, causing its market capitalization to skyrocket from $500,000 to $25 million within just half an hour. The token’s price also experienced a staggering surge, increasing by almost 400% from its initial value of $0.0005110 to $0.02500.
Unfortunately, the excitement was short-lived as the anonymous developers behind GRIMACE executed a classic rug pull. They abruptly abandoned the project, taking more than $700,000 of investor funds with them. To add insult to injury, they even boldly thanked McDonald’s for the stolen Solana funds by posting a message on the company’s Instagram bio.
Meanwhile, the price of Solana has remained relatively stable, trading between $138 and $142 after recovering from a dip earlier this month. Despite Bitcoin and Ethereum experiencing surges of approximately 3% and 2% respectively, Solana has seen little price movement, dropping by a slight 0.9% over the past 24 hours.
This lack of demand for Solana is reflected in a 14% decrease in trading volume to $2.2 million over the last 48 hours. The consolidation in Solana’s price raises concerns for bullish investors, as the token has failed to surpass its key technical indicators. Currently priced at $142, Solana has yet to breach its 50-day and 200-day exponential moving averages (EMAs) at $143 and $151 respectively.
Breaking through these levels is essential for sustained price recovery and establishing strong support levels in case of potential corrections. However, it is worth noting that after the recent cryptocurrency market crash on August 5, SOL found significant support at the $129 level, which serves as a critical near-term defense for Solana’s price action.
It is crucial to stay vigilant in the crypto space amidst the trend of memecoins and the increasing risk of scams and rug pulls.