Stock Groups

Coinbase removes cryptocurrency links after ‘rug pull’ warnings -Breaking

[ad_1]

© Reuters. FILEPHOTO: A logo representing Coinbase Global Inc. is shown on the Nasdaq MarketSite and other Times Square displays in New York. This was taken April 14, 2021. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo

Hannah Lang, Tom Wilson

LONDON/WASHINGTON Reuters – Coinbase Global (NASDAQ : Global) removed ‘how can I buy’ instructions to at least three cryptocurrency tokens. This was in response to a series of ‘rug pulling’ warnings about investors losing their investment. It also announced that they are working to strengthen security.

Jaclyn sales, Coinbase’s spokesperson, stated that the links had been removed from Coinbase’s website following their discovery by Reuters this week. According to her, there would also be an update in security on the exchange’s auto-created websites.

Coinbase, a Nasdaq listed company, has pages that offer tips for investing in tokens. The pages are informational and not available for trade.

According to Sales, the pages were automatically created from data provided by CoinMarketCap and contained disclaimers that they weren’t investment advice.

CoinMarketCap stated that it wasn’t aware of Coinbase pages, and Shaun Heng, its vice president of growth and operations said that there is no partnership between Coinbase and CoinMarketCap.

Sales stated that Coinbase did not run any checks to determine if the information on coins it had removed was correct. Coinbase said it would create a “stronger disclaimer” for pages that are auto-created, the exchange confirmed to Reuters by email.

Coinbase also said it would “build a process for taking down any other pages that CoinMarketCap flagged as being potentially scams”, adding that assets which are related to scams have been blocked from trading on the exchange.

‘RUG PULLS’

Coinbase took down one page, which featured DeFi100. They advised that users check CoinMarketCap in order to see where they could buy it.

However, the DeFi100 page https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/defi100/historical-data on CoinMarketCap warns: “We have received multiple reports that this project has exited as a scam. You should exercise caution.

CoinMarketCap does not offer cryptocurrency sales on its website. DeFi100 tokens haven’t recorded daily trading volume since Nov. 14, according to CoinMarketCap.

DeFi100’s website https://defi100.org and Medium blog page https://wrapp3d.medium.com are offline. The last time it tweeted was May 2013.

CoinMarketCap declined to comment on DeFi100 warning or provide any information.

Users of Twitter (NYSE) claimed that DeFi100 performed a “rug draw” in May. This is where investors put money into fake projects, and the developers take their cash.

DeFi100 denied the allegations in one of its last tweets https://twitter.com/DEFI100/status/1396439014178136065?cxt=HHwWgoCt6c_4kuEmAAAA, on May 23. Recognizing that some investors have suffered losses, DeFi100 stated it wanted to “bring back the project on its feet.”

It has not responded to Reuters inquiries for comment.

‘MERCENARY’

Coinbase took down a page that featured Mercenary, a token similar to DeFi100.

January saw Mercenary launch, reaching a peak of nearly $20. It plummeted to just under $8, a fraction of one cent on January 26th. CoinMarketCap data indicates that its value has never recovered since then.

Blockchain security firm PeckShield tweeted https://twitter.com/PeckShieldAlert/status/1486305364018556928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw on Jan. 26 that Mercenary had been hit by a rug pull and warned buyers off it.

Mercenary’s website and Twitter account are not online, so Reuters couldn’t contact them.

Coinbase’s page on Mercenary was launched at a time that is not clear. However, CoinMarketCap appeared first on January 15. CoinMarketCap didn’t respond to a query about whether it removed Mercenary from its systems.

Coinbase also removed a page about a token called after Squid Game, which was almost worthless in November due to what cybersecurity experts called another rug pull. The token was also not accessible on Coinbase’s wallet or app.

After the project collapsed, the website and Medium accounts behind the token were taken down quickly. They remain offline. Twitter also suspended the project’s account, saying that it violated the network’s rules.

SQUID’s developers stated on Telegram that in November they had abandoned the token and claimed “someone was trying to hack into our project”.

[ad_2]