ETHTrustFund Silent Developer Rug Pull

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ETHTrustFund Logo/Homepage

ETHTrustFund, an Ethereum-based ETF-like project, aimed to be a top treasury-backed currency protocol using a rebasing mechanism similar to OlympusDAO. It promised high returns and a deflationary model to increase token value. However, after months of building trust and raising capital, the project's developer, Peng, executed a rug pull by transferring over $2 million from the fund's treasury to a new wallet. Subsequently, Peng disappeared, deleting all social media accounts and project-related communications. The project now appears to be a classic exit scam, leaving investors with significant losses and the project's online presence erased.

About ETHTrustFund

"Ethereum's First ETF - ETHTrustFund $ETF emerges as an elite crypto hedge fund, conceptualizing through a tri-phased growth model and craft to become the Top Treasury-Backed Currency Protocol on Base."

"ETHTrustFund positioned itself as a DAO with rebasing features, following the OHM playbook.

They issued blockchain-based bonds and implemented a "rebasing" mechanism for stakers.

They bragged to be the “Highest Return Yielding ETF On Earth”.

The fund promised to eventually "debase" or destroy its own ETF tokens, supposedly pushing up remaining token prices. All invested assets would allegedly generate yield for token holders."

"The dev, known only as Peng, spent months building trust and raising capital." "Investors believed the founder to be a seasoned dev, willing to build a legitimate project on the new chain."

The Reality

This sections is included if a case involved deception or information that was unknown at the time. Examples include:

• When the service was actually started (if different than the "official story").
• Who actually ran a service and their own personal history.
• How the service was structured behind the scenes. (For example, there was no "trading bot".)
• Details of what audits reported and how vulnerabilities were missed during auditing.

What Happened

"The fraudulent project abruptly moved funds from its treasury to a new wallet."

Key Event Timeline - ETHTrustFund Silent Developer Rug Pull

Date	Event	Description
March 17th, 2024 9:30:47 PM MDT	First Website Capture	The first time the ETHTrustFund website is captured in the Internet archive.
March 23rd, 2024 9:19:08 AM MDT	Price Appreciate Mechanics	Mechanics for price appreciation are released on the ETHTrustFund Medium account as the final post there.
May 23rd, 2024 11:43:38 AM MDT	Final Website Capture	The final capture of the ETHTrustFund website (which is presently offline).
July 20th, 2024 3:04:59 PM MDT	First Token Transfer	The first theft transfer of tokens out of the ETHTrustFund wallet.
July 20th, 2024 11:35:41 PM MDT	Second Token Transfer	The second theft transfer of tokens out of the ETHTrustFund wallet.
July 21st, 2024 8:10:00 AM MDT	Octoshi Tweet Posted	Octoshi shares a tweet with information on the rug pull.
July 22nd, 2024 1:01:46 PM MDT	CoinTelegraph Article Published	CoinTelegraph publishes an article with information about the project and suspected rug pull.

Technical Details

This section includes specific detailed technical analysis of any security breaches which happened. What specific software vulnerabilities contributed to the problem and how were they exploited?

Total Amount Lost

The total amount lost has been estimated at $2,100,000 USD.

How much was lost and how was it calculated? If there are conflicting reports, which are accurate and where does the discrepancy lie?

Immediate Reactions

"Yesterday, the project known as ETHTrustFund (@ethtrustfund_ now deleted) sent +$2M from the treasury to a new wallet, after months of intentional inactivity by the dev, it seems that he has decided to steal the funds"

"As the dust settled, users started looking for someone to blame. But "Peng" had already vanished into the crypto ether…"

"The founder, Peng, had deleted his Telegram, Twitter, the official Telegram of the project itself and was ignoring all messages and DMs."

"Social media accounts deleted, website down, only the ghostly remains of project docs were left behind, at least briefly, as those have been taken down too."

Ultimate Outcome

"All evidence pointed towards a classic rug pull/exit scam, with Base as the unwitting stage for this financial theater."

Total Amount Recovered

There do not appear to have been any funds recovered in this case.

What funds were recovered? What funds were reimbursed for those affected users?

Ongoing Developments

What parts of this case are still remaining to be concluded?

Individual Prevention Policies

No specific policies for individual prevention have yet been identified in this case.

For the full list of how to protect your funds as an individual, check our Prevention Policies for Individuals guide.

Platform Prevention Policies

Policies for platforms to take to prevent this situation have not yet been selected in this case.

For the full list of how to protect your funds as a financial service, check our Prevention Policies for Platforms guide.

Regulatory Prevention Policies

No specific regulatory policies have yet been identified in this case.

For the full list of regulatory policies that can prevent loss, check our Prevention Policies for Regulators guide.