QUADRIGA INITIATIVE
CRYPTO WATCHDOG & FRAUD RECOVERY PLATFORM
A COMMUNITY-BASED, NOT-FOR-PROFIT
$32 000 000 USD
MAY 2021
GLOBAL
DEFI100
DESCRIPTION OF EVENTS
"DEFI100 [describes itself as] the first synthetic asset on Binance smart chain, pegged to the total Defi market cap." "DEFI100-Rebase is an elastic supply synthetic index token based on the total market cap of the DeFi sector. Pegged at a ratio of 1:100 Billion, DEFI100 derives its data using decentralized oracles from DIA to maintain the accuracy of feeds and accurate rebases."
"DeFi100, a decentralized project (DeFi) project built on the Binance Smart Chain, has created a ton of controversy on Sunday as its website displayed the message: “We scammed you guys, and you can’t do s**t about it.”"
"Reports have claimed that people behind cryptocurrency project DeFi100 may have absconded with investor funds worth USD 32 million (approx Rs 233 crore). Such reports appeared after a message on the cryptocurrency project’s website – DeFi100.org – scared visitors with a message saying they had been “scammed” and that they can’t do anything about it."
"Initially, it was believed that the project scammed its investors for $32 million. The speculations were worsened as the project did not officially say anything about the message on its website for hours." "Some reports put the market cap for the currency at an estimated $32 million. The method used to estimate this value has not been explained by any outlet or user."
"The website was hacked yesterday and the message was shown by the hackers. It has been taken down."
"It, however, acknowledged that the investors faced huge losses as the project failed to live up to the initial expectations. The token prices of the project also fell from its all-time high of above $3.5 in late February to around $0.08." "The native token of DeFi100, the D100, slipped 25% in valuation since the hacking news."
"Rumors of scamming for 32 million are false and baseless," the group tweeted. "“Yes, our investors faced huge losses as [the] project failed to achieve what we hoped for. But there is no exit scam and we are still working on finding a way to bring the project back on its feet,” the project stated."
"Website has been restored! More updates to be followed."
In this case, a hacker breached the Defi100 website and created a page which claimed an exit scam. A tweet claimed $32m was lost. The story spread quickly, even included in some mainstream news articles.
By the time the project had realized and provided an update, significant damage was done to the project reputation. The site has since been brought online, and apparently didn't even have $32m, although the "market cap" is reported above $80m on the Defi100 dashboard page.
It's likely that the exploit was undertaken to manipulate the token price and profit off the change.
HOW COULD THIS HAVE BEEN PREVENTED?
Having a regulatory framework is important not just to prevent loss but also to prevent panics. When there is greater visibility into the backing of platforms, and procedures in place for handling such situations, it's harder to create such fear.
Hack? DeFi100 Denies Allegations of $32 Million Exit Scam (May 24)
Have people behind DeFi100 cryptocurrency project run away with Rs 233 crore of investor funds? - The Financial Express (May 24)
@cryptowhale Twitter (May 24)
DeFi100 Claims Website Hack After Allegations Of Exit Scam | Headlines | News | CoinMarketCap (May 24)
People Behind Crypto Protocol DeFi100 May Have Absconded With $32M in Investor Funds - CoinDesk (May 24)
Scam That Wasn't - Defi1000 $32m Cryptocurrency Scam was Fake News and Website was Hacked (May 24)
@DEFI100 Twitter (Jun 1)
DeFi100 price today, D100 live marketcap, chart, and info | CoinMarketCap (Jun 1)
Cryptocurrency DeFi100 founders deny allegations they stole $32 million from investors | Fox Business (Jun 1)
Defi100 Docs (Jun 1)
@DEFI100 Twitter (Jun 2)
DeFi100 pulls the rug on investors: the $32 million crypto scam (Jun 2)
Have Those Behind Defi100 Crypto Project Scammed Investment $32 Million? | Technology News (Jun 2)
DeFi100 Coin Scam: DeFi100 creators rug pull investors, disappear with $32 million (Jun 2)
DEFI100-Rebase (Jun 2)
Defi100 Dashboard (Jun 2)
SlowMist Hacked - SlowMist Zone (May 18)
Scammer Leaves a Note for His Victims Part 2! - YouTube (Jul 17)
CertiK Blockchain Security Leaderboard (Jun 1)
Worldwide crypto & NFT rug pulls and scams tracker - Comparitech (Dec 15)