According to reports, the developer of Neiro, a Solana-based memecoin, has executed a rug pull, making 2.85 million dollars in the process. He initially invested 3 SOL or around $552, and bought 97.5 million Neiro tokens. While this initial investment has resulted into an incredible 5,169x return.
In various wallets, the developer sold 68 million Neiro tokens that earned him 15,511 SOL equivalent to $2.85 million.
It is worth saying that these actions entailed the purchase of 10m Neiro units, which he sent into a dead wallet. Thereby leaving unrealized profits on other 19.5m Neiro tokens amounting to $1.8m.
Neiro Memecoin’s Origins and Rise to Popularity
Neiro is a meme coin on the Solana blockchain named after Kabosu’s newly adopted dog, the same dog that inspired Dogecoin. The Neiro token was launched on July 28, 2024, following the announcement of the new dog adoption.
This is how the cryptocurrency community became engrossed with this launch, and significant trading volume arose as a result of this frenzy
The token was initiated by Kabosu’s owner, who distanced herself from it and warned against potential scams. The fair launch aspect of the Neiro token, while having a vibrant community, approximately three thousand followers via Twitter. They also have over 1000 members in Telegram, contributed to its rapid rise despite the lack of any particular use for it.
Community Response and Market Impact
It did not take a long time before people started paying attention to Neiro token. It has more than eight thousand holding addresses already on board and a liquidity pool exceeding $1.1 million. Its price increased 100x, propelling its market capitalization to $18m but controversies surrounded what the developer did, creating suspicions about the legitimacy or future of such a token.
Neiro’s huge trading volumes have also affected decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volumes on Solana, even displacing those of Ethereum in the process. This surge in activity indicates the potential market impact of popular meme coins despite the risks associated with such investments.
Consequently, ShibaInuHodler tweeted about the rising popularity of a new dog-themed cryptocurrency, NEIRO. Comparing it to the early days of Shiba Inu, @ShibaInuHodler mentioned that NEIRO, associated with @kabosumama, has the potential to reach a $1 billion market cap soon (just like DOGE and SHIB).
Rug Pull Concerns and Industry Implications
This is considered a rug pull by many as it is known that developers exit scamming their projects after selling off their tokens quickly for some profit.
This incident serves as a stark reminder of the volatility and risks inherent in the crypto market.
It is not only Neiro token’s case. There have been similar incidents within the broader memecoin sector, including sharp falls for different celebrity-backed memecoins post-launch. Such occurrences can damage the reputation of this industry as they call for due diligence before investing in these new coins.
Solana’s On-Chain Activity and Trading Volume
Indisputably, trading mania related to Neiro tokens on Solana’s network activities have significantly increased. With Solana’s volumes surpassing Ethereum’s and peaking at 1.8 billion dollars two days consecutively, as reported by DefiLlama data, It was driven by trading in Neiro tokens rather than anything else, thus reflecting its speculative nature.
Nevertheless, amidst controversy, Raydium—Solana decentralized exchange—were among the beneficiaries of this enhanced trading volume. One weekend alone saw $2.5bn pass through Raydium, representing its best single day since July. However, these developments also underscore the potential risks and speculative behavior within the memecoin market.
Despite the controversy surrounding the project, Neuro’s developer made a lot of money from the increase in its value. Bubblemaps’ on-chain analysis showed that the developer took home at least $5.4 million from the token’s usage. It has caused discussions on regulatory actions and investor safety in cryptocurrencies.
Neuro’s owner, who disassociated herself from it, again warned against token scams, saying she endorses no cryptocurrency except OwnTheDoge.
