As the world of cryptocurrency continues to evolve with multiple tokens coming to the market daily, so do the tactics of scammers. This time, it is tied to DannyCrypt, a prominent figure, and influencer in the crypto community, who has been accused of betraying the trust of his loyal followers by dumping one of the tokens he marketed.
Reports suggest that the HODLR token is a cryptocurrency that was promoted by DannyCrypt to his followers, selling off his own tokens and causing a substantial drop in the value of the cryptocurrency.
The influencer obtained 2% of the token’s supply for promotional purposes, according to the on-chain sleuth ZachXBT, and then he dumped the majority of these tokens on his unwary followers for a profit of $57K (31 ETH).
Another day another influencer @DannyCrypt dumping on their followers undisclosed
He received 2% of the supply to assist with marketing but within 15 minutes of receiving the tokens market dumped the majority of them for $57k (31 ETH)
Meanwhile he tweeted “hodling my HODL coin” pic.twitter.com/XVrMh3HVDZ
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) May 10, 2023
According to a report by ZachXBT, it seems that @DannyCrypt was promoting the HODL coin on social media, constantly tweeting about how he was “holdling” his tokens. Interestingly, he also shared with his 26,000-strong Telegram channel that he believed the price of the HODL coin had reached a stable point, and he even mentioned that he was planning to buy more.
However, things took a twist when, allegedly, within just 15 minutes of receiving the tokens from the project’s team members, he decided to sell them.
🚨 Important Announcement! 🌟
We admit a mistake: 2% of the token supply was sent to a marketer who unexpectedly dumped heavily on us. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
But fear not, $HODLR community! We're here for the long haul, and this setback won't deter us.
— HODLR (@hodloorcoin) May 10, 2023
DannyCrypt attempts to clear his name
Since this incident came to light, DannyCrypt has been trying to distance himself from the whole ordeal. He started untagging himself from the related tweets and made subsequent posts in an attempt to clear his name.
It’s worth noting that ZachXBT mentioned that DannyCrypt actually liked his tweet but then untagged himself, expressing disbelief at the audacity of the situation, saying, “have not seen anyone this shameless in a while.”
However, while DannyCrypt admits that there’s nothing wrong with selling a token he was paid for his job, it remains unclear whether dumping just 2% of the entire token supply would significantly affect the overall project.
The team allegedly kept over 70% of the presale for themselves
This raises questions among community members who wonder why a mere 2% sell-off would have such a detrimental impact on a token.
Meanwhile, the influencer who has been accused of wrongdoing took to Twitter to defend himself. He stated that the team wasn’t upset with him for selling his portion of the token. Rather, their frustration stemmed from the fact that he was able to sell before them, even though they had reserved over 70% of the presale whitelist for themselves.
You open presale page and 70% already sold in 1 minute but the remaining 30% takes 1 hour to sell
Lol who do you think bought the 70% before it was open to the public?
— DANNY 🧸 (@DannyCrypt) May 10, 2023
This unethical kind of behavior, mostly from project founders, is known as a “pump and dump” scheme, which is illegal across financial markets, including crypto. Unfortunately, it is becoming rampant in the digital currency space.
Although the HODLR team said they are “committed to building back better,” this incident highlights the importance of thoroughly researching and vetting people behind a Defi project as well as its influencers before investing in any cryptocurrency project.
