CryptoComLearn has looked back at five major rug-pull cases tied to 2024: DIO, FROGGY, HAWK, SHAR, and GUNIT. The cases span pump-and-dump allegations, drained liquidity pools, and token promotions amplified by influencer or celebrity attention. Different setups, same outcome. Token prices collapsed and holders were left with steep losses.
How rug pulls usually take shape
A crypto rug pull typically centers on a new project with limited transparency or anonymous builders. The project attracts capital through hype, branding, or promises of fast gains, then the developers or related wallets exit abruptly and remove funds, leaving investors with tokens that hold little or no value.
The format is not limited to one corner of the market. Meme coins, DeFi tokens, and even projects promoted through compromised celebrity-linked social accounts can all fit the pattern.
DIO and the pump-and-dump accusation
In the DIO case, Jump Trading was accused of running a pump-and-dump using Decimated (DIO), a token originally tied to a Fracture Labs gaming project. To help stabilize the token’s listing on HTX, formerly Huobi, the developer lent Jump millions of DIO tokens. The article says Jump later sold its full position near the top after influencers were hired to increase attention around the token.
After the price dropped sharply, Jump bought the tokens back at roughly a quarter of their peak value and returned them to Fracture Labs. At the time cited in the article, DIO was trading at $0.007276, down 98.8% from its all-time high of $0.5879.
FROGGY and the classic liquidity drain
Froggy (FROGGY) was presented as an early-2024 example of a traditional DeFi fraud. It was marketed as a meme token aimed at social media users, with humorous branding and promises of quick profits. On X and Reddit, developers framed it as a community-led project with visible support.
Early participants funded the liquidity pool, which helped lift the token’s price and made the project appear more legitimate. Once enough money had come in, the developers drained liquidity and the token’s value crashed. The article lists FROGGY at $0.0000000073964, a 99.95% fall from its all-time high of $0.00001577.
HAWK lost most of its value minutes after launch
On December 4, 2024, social media personality Hailey Welch launched the Hawk Tuah (HAWK) meme coin. According to the article, the token’s value dropped from $500 million to $60 million within 20 minutes of its debut, triggering a heavy online backlash and legal scrutiny.
The report adds that U.S. law firm Burwick Law filed a federal lawsuit against Welch and three other individuals connected to the underperforming HAWK token. At the time of writing in the source article, HAWK was trading at $0.0006404, down 71% from its all-time high of $0.0022413.
SHAR surged on X hype, then crashed in under two seconds
Sharpei (SHAR), built around a cartoon Shar Pei dog image, launched in October 2024 and quickly reached a market valuation of $54 million after promotion from X influencers, described in the article as KOLs. At the top, a leaked pitch deck surfaced, claiming the developers had onboarded “50+ tier 1 KOLs” and were planning collaborations with exchanges and other ventures. Several influencers named in the document denied involvement.
The article also says BONK contributors Kadense and Nom rejected the leaked claim that SHAR would form a strategic alliance with BONK after reaching a $100 million market cap. A pseudonymous influencer, Joji, who had over 200,000 followers, was also drawn into the dispute and denied any collaboration by posting Telegram screenshots. SHAR then slipped from $54 million to $35.5 million, before a large coordinated sale sent it down 96.3% to a market value of $1.3 million in less than two seconds. The article says the token was still trading around 25% below its all-time high of $0.001314.
GUNIT rode a hacked celebrity account before collapsing
The GUNIT episode was tied to account compromise. Rapper 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis James Jackson III, said his website and X account were hacked and used to promote a fake cryptocurrency called GUNIT. The attackers used his large audience to inflate the token before it dropped to $0.00016.
Jackson told his 32.8 million Instagram followers about the breach and said the hackers made $300 million in 30 minutes, though the same article states actual trading volume was $19.4 million. It also says four wallets sold more than $100,000 each. At the time cited, GUNIT traded at $0.00002133 versus an all-time high of $0.05085, with the drop described as 100%.
Basic checks highlighted in the article
The source closes with a short list of precautions. One is to avoid trading tokens on decentralized exchanges unless the official project account has shared the contract address on its social channels. Another is to inspect liquidity and check whether a small number of wallets control most of the supply, which can signal an elevated dump risk.
If a token is already listed on a centralized exchange, the article says traders should still review the project’s fundamentals and watch for any changes in total supply, since supply expansion can affect price directly. Its final advice is plain: do the research before entering a trade.