A new report from blockchain analytics firm DappRadar shows that while the number of crypto rug pulls has dropped this year, the damage they cause has grown significantly.
DappRadar Findings on Crypto Rug Pulls
So far in 2025, only seven rug pull incidents have been reported, a figure which is down from 21 during the same period in 2024. However, the total losses this year have increased to nearly $6 billion, compared to $90 million in early 2024. Most of this year’s losses come from the collapse of the Mantra $OM token, though its founder denies it was a rug pull.
DappRadar analyst Sara Gherghelas explains that scams are becoming more advanced and are often run by professional teams. In 2024, most rug pulls were linked to DeFi protocols, NFTs, and meme coins. This year, however, memecoins are the main source of scams.
One of the most controversial incidents being- the Libra ($LIBRA) crypto crash. After grabbing attention due to a ‘tweet’ by Argentina’s President, Javier Milei, $LIBRA’s market cap successfully surged to $4.56 billion, only to crash by 94% after his post was deleted. This incident raised concerns of a pump-and-dump scheme, and investigations are still on, regarding the same.
Gherghelas warns users to watch for red flags like sudden hype, anonymous teams, unverified smart contracts, or inactive GitHub pages, common signs that a project might not be trustworthy.
In spite of these fewer incidents, the growing scale of the losses involved in these scams shows that rug pulls pose a serious risk to the crypto industry.
Apart from rug pulls, sophisticated phishing attacks are also on the rise in the crypto space these days. The latest incident involves Jake Gallen, CEO of crypto firm Emblem Vault, who was recently targeted by a phishing attack over a Zoom call that led to the loss of more than $100,000 in Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Also Read: Insider Profits $4.9 Million from Ronaldinho’s $STAR10 Token: Is It a New Rug Pull?
