TRUMP related Wallet received 4.2 million Meteora Airdrop and transferred to exchange, dumping 40% was accused of "Rug Pull"

The Solana ecosystem project Meteora faced a significant setback after launching its highly anticipated Airdrop on October 23, with prices falling over 40%. On-chain data from Arkham Intelligence indicates that three wallet addresses associated with the TRUMP Meme coin project team collectively received Meteora tokens worth $4.2 million and immediately deposited all tokens into a Centralized Exchange after receiving the Airdrop. This insider trading pattern, combined with the token price collapse, quickly sparked a strong Rebound in the community, with many small investors accusing it of “disguised dumping” or even “Rug Pull.”

TRUMP associated Wallet becomes the largest beneficiary of the Meteora Airdrop

Meteora, as an important liquidity protocol on Solana, originally aimed to reward ecological contributors with its airdrop, but on-chain data reveals potential arbitrage activities by insiders.

  1. Largest Airdrop Recipients: Arkham Intelligence revealed that three wallet addresses involved in TRUMP Meme coin trading prominently appeared among the top five recipients of the Meteora Airdrop. These three wallets received a total of 4.2 million dollars worth of Meteora Tokens.
  2. “Insider” trading model: It is worth noting that these wallet addresses were also traced back to a large amount of purchases made on the first day of TRUMP coin issuance. This wallet, which is highly associated with popular Meme coin projects, has an advantage in another project's airdrop, raising concerns in the community about the fairness of the system.

Instant Transfer of Token to CEX: Selling Intent Triggers Market Panic

The next step for airdrop recipients after receiving the tokens is crucial for the market to judge their intentions, and the choice of the wallet associated with TRUMP directly led to the selling panic.

  1. Full transfer to the exchange: Arkham Intelligence tracking shows that all Airdrop rewards received by these three addresses were immediately deposited into the exchange. Although internal trading on Centralized Exchanges (CEX) is not visible on-chain, transferring a large number of Tokens to the exchange is often interpreted by the market as a strong intention to sell.
  2. Price big dump: It was this instant transfer behavior, combined with Meteora's listing on major mainstream CEXs, that caused the price to fall by more than 40% on the day of launch. As of the writing of this article, the trading price of this Solana-based Token is $0.5380, with a market cap of approximately $258.38 million.

Community Strong Rebound: Accusations of “Insider” and “dumping”

The Meteora community reacted extremely intensely to this event, with many early liquidity providers believing that their interests were harmed.

  1. “Airdrop Game” and Fairness Controversy: Many community members accuse the wallet holders associated with TRUMP of “manipulating the airdrop rules”, leveraging their advantageous position to obtain a large amount of Tokens.
  2. Implicit “Rug Pull”: Although it is not a technical exit scam, large internal stakeholders sell off tokens immediately upon release (or show intentions to sell), which many holders characterize as implicit dumping, causing unfair harm to small investors. This behavior severely undermines the community's confidence in the project's long-term development.

Industry Reflection: Regulatory Challenges of Airdrop Mechanisms and Insider Trading

This incident is not only a crisis for the Meteora project but also poses a challenge to the fairness of the entire cryptocurrency industry, especially the Airdrop mechanism.

  1. Decentralization and Fair Distribution: Although DeFi and the Solana ecosystem emphasize decentralization, how to effectively prevent insiders from arbitraging using information or associated advantages in airdrop and reward mechanisms remains a key issue that the industry needs to address.
  2. Market Transparency: The existence of on-chain analysis tools like Arkham Intelligence has increased market transparency, enabling the rapid exposure of such behaviors and creating a certain deterrent effect against potential dumping actions. Investors should pay more attention to the concentration of token distribution and the on-chain behavior of early recipients when participating in airdrops.

Conclusion

The massive profits and instant transfer behavior of the TRUMP-associated Wallet in the Meteora Airdrop is the latest reflection of insider trading and the fairness issues of Airdrop distribution in the crypto industry. This “get-rich-quick” model has dealt a fatal blow to the long-term development of projects and community trust. This incident serves as a reminder to all crypto investors to remain vigilant about the behavior patterns of on-chain whales and insiders when participating in any new projects or Airdrops, as every large-scale fund transfer they make may herald significant market volatility.

Disclaimer: This article is for news information only and does not constitute any investment advice. The cryptocurrency market is highly volatile, and investors should make cautious decisions.

TRUMP1.57%
MET4.31%
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