The launch of memecoin Pond0x has led to millions of dollars in losses for investors, according to multiple reports on social media on July 28. Data from the Maestro trading app shows that the Pond0x (PNDX) token reached a price of $0.36 before collapsing to near zero in a span of five minutes.
Maestro chart of PNDX/USD during its launch. Source: Maestro
The launch of Pond0x was announced on July 28 by Jeremy Cahen, the founder of Not Larva Labs who is better known by his Twitter username “Pauly.” Not Larva Labs is the developer of a nonfungible token trading app for CryptoPunks and for a separate parody collection called CryptoPhunks. It is not associated with Larva Labs, the creators of CryptoPunks.
In the announcement, Cahen listed the contract address for PNDX and the URL for its official web app.
Welcome To Pond0x https://t.co/iSiwpRDrix • $PNDX
Contract: 0x1d4214081985ad20aa3ca93a2206ae792635cbec
️ pic.twitter.com/UokLAHPaSn
— PAULY (@Pauly0x) July 28, 2023
The web app contained a Pepe meme graphic, similar to the ones used in successful memecoins like Pepecoin (PEPE). The app allowed users to mint new PNDX tokens in exchange for a fixed amount of Ether (ETH), similar to a presale or fundraiser. However, many users expected the fundraiser to be done on Uniswap, and the listing of both the website and the contract address in the same post caused confusion, according to social media reports.
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Some users purchased the token on Uniswap through bot trading apps like Maestro or Unibot, increasing its price. Meanwhile, other users minted tokens using the web app and sold them into the market at a profit.
Users who lost crypto complained they had lost thousands or even millions of dollars. In reply to Cahen’s initial post, one Pepecoin enthusiast complained, “WTH !!!! I just got wrecked !!! 4eth [$7,484] worth like $0 !!” Another collector stated, “I put $50,000 and now it’s worth $10 dollars,” which provoked yet another…
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