Dubai-based Indian memecoin creator, Sahil Arora, referred to as memecoin rug pull schemes essentially the most profitable alternative in an interview with the New York Publish. Based on the Could 17 article, Arora, who boasts of incomes hundreds of thousands of {dollars} from over 100 memecoin rug pulls, stated:
“The best technique to earn cash is to deploy a meme coin, run it, after which promote as quickly as you see [profits].”
In rug pulls or pump-and-dump schemes, dangerous actors create a nugatory memecoin, use false or paid endorsements to advertise, and promote it as quickly as the value goes up. The creators normally management a big portion of the tokens, and promoting off the pile causes the value to crash.
Due to this fact, buyers bear the losses whereas the creator makes off with hundreds of thousands. In August 2024, crypto sleuth ZachXBT estimated that Arora earned between $2 million and $3 million by memecoin scams.
Final 12 months, Arora advised The Defiant that it “took a lotta mind pulling that [rug pulls] off.” Arora, who’s proud to have been referred to as a “tremendous villain,” openly advised the Publish that rug pulling is the “greatest on line casino on Earth proper now.”
Veteran crypto investor Kyle Chassé advised the Publish:
“…not less than within the on line casino, you recognize that perhaps 60 % of the time the home wins. On this [crypto] on line casino, the home goes to win 99 % of the time.”
Arora added:
“In case you don’t get rugged by me, you’re most likely going to get rugged by another person. So, you would possibly as nicely get rugged by an individual with a monitor file of some success quite than getting rugged by a random individual on the Web.”
Arora continues to hold out memecoin rug pulls
Final 12 months, a number of celebrities accused Arora of utilizing memecoins linked to them to orchestrate and pull off pump-and-dump scams. This included former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner, Dimitri Leslie Roger, an American rapper often known as Wealthy the Child, and Australian rapper Iggy Azalea.
Regardless of the accusations and Arora’s non-denial of involvement, he managed to tug off extra rug pulls. In February 2025, Arora, who portrays a lavish life-style from cash earned by rug pulls, launched the token BROCCOLI, an ode to former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ’s) canine, utilizing the identical pockets he used to launch Jenner’s official memecoin in 2024. Arora advised Decrypt that he made $6.5 million by dumping Brocolli tokens.
Pseudonymous crypto marketing consultant Cryptony advised the Publish that the value of memecoins like Brocolli solely goes up due to massive demand after endorsements or promotions. He added:
“[In rug pulls] The wealthy get richer. For one individual to earn cash, one other individual has to lose cash. That’s the place it comes from.”
Arora is one among many
A number of influencers have been accused of selling memecoins that crash in worth. This consists of YouTuber Paul “Ice Poseidon” Denino, Faze Kay, and Haliey “Hawk Tuah Woman” Welch.
Denino reportedly emptied out the liquidity pool of his memecoin two weeks after launch. He admitted to stealing the cash from buyers, along with his complete loot standing at round $750,000.
Faze Kay was accused of selling a token referred to as Save the Youngsters that crashed. Welch, whose memecoin HAWK misplaced 95% of its worth in minutes, nonetheless, was cleared by the U.S. Securities and Trade Fee (SEC) of any wrongdoing, in line with her supervisor.
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