Pseudonymous on-chain analyst Wazz revealed findings on September 27 connecting 53 token launches on Robinhood Chain to a single coordinated operation that extracted at least $18.43 million between July and September. The revelation comes as trading activity surged on the network, where daily launchpad volumes previously surpassed $1 billion.
Mechanics of the $18.4M Token Launch Scheme
Wazz traced financial flows across 45 of the 53 launches, detailing how proceeds from one project funded the launch batch of the next. In one documented instance, 98 wallets associated with the DRAFT token swept 179.88 ETH into a single hub wallet. That hub transferred funds through an intermediary wallet to deliver 20 ETH to DEED's funding key, which signed DEED's funding batch just 16 seconds later.
Additionally, 4 launches shared a private key and another 4 launches shared a collector wallet. Automated wallet clusters ranging from 70 to 200 wallets bought up nearly the entire supply of each token. The highest extraction totals included CRUMBS at $3.12 million, LEGS at $2.9 million, and PINK at $1.3 million. Each asset subsequently collapsed by more than 99% from its peak valuation. Approximately $18.11 million currently sits unspent in holding wallets across Robinhood Chain and Ethereum (ETH), mirroring patterns seen in recent Ethereum wallet scams targetting retail capital.
Exploiting Launchpad Rules and Network Growth
Out of the 53 identified launches, 34 utilized Pons V2, the network's leading launchpad platform. Pons V2 enforces a 99% tax on token buys during the initial launch second, which decreases to zero shortly after. However, creators can pre-declare tax-exempt wallets inside the launch transaction. According to Wazz, these exempted wallets acquired up to 86% of total token supply in the opening second.
Key takeaways from the report include:
- $18.43 million extracted across 53 token launches between July and September.
- 34 projects manipulated Pons V2 tax exemptions to acquire up to 86% of initial supply.
- $18.11 million remains unspent in addresses across Robinhood Chain and Ethereum.
- Pons (PONS) has recorded $2.74 billion in cumulative trading volume across 139,426 traders.
Robinhood Chain launched on July 1 as a Layer 2 network intended for tokenized equities, but speculative trading quickly grew. Dune Analytics data shows daily DEX volume peaked at $3.78 billion on September 4, up from under $1 billion through July and August. On that day, total launchpad token volume hit $1.5 billion, with Pons representing $818.7 million. Wazz noted that at least 2 additional serial operations extracted millions on the network.
Why It Matters
This scheme highlights the structural vulnerabilities present in automated token launch mechanisms on emerging Layer 2 networks. While zero-slippage or anti-snipe features are designed to protect retail participants, configurable tax exemptions can be weaponized by developers to lock out fair price discovery. As global regulatory bodies heighten focus on unauthorized launch platforms—similar to recent Quebec AMF warnings regarding pump.fun—decentralized protocols will face increasing pressure to eliminate privileged admin functions that enable predatory extraction.
