New schemes are being launched on Blast by a group that has a history of blockchain fraud on sites including Magnate, Kokomo, and Lendora. Recently, they have transferred about $1 million in money that has been laundered to support their fraudulent operations.
The money was originally transferred from an Ethereum address connected to earlier scams to a different address on the Polygon network, per on-chain investigator ZachXBT. Later, the assets were transformed into Wrapped ETH (wETH) and transferred using bridging services like Bungee and Orbiter between several blockchain networks. In the end, they were utilized to buy LEAP tokens on the Blast platform, boosting liquidity in what seems to be yet another set-up for gullible people. ZachXBT also notes that ZebraLending, a continuing project on the Base platform with a current total value locked (TVL) of about $311K, is likely being managed by the same people.
This gang has a track record of starting a number of initiatives that get a sizable TVL but then stealing the money. To offer the impression of authenticity, their strategies frequently entail forging Know Your Customer (KYC) documentation and working with dubious auditing organizations. Targeting a variety of blockchain platforms, such as Base, Solana, Scroll, Optimism, Ethereum, and Avalanche, this group has demonstrated its operational adaptability and wide-ranging influence in the industry.
Because these scams are happening, there is a need for the blockchain community to be vigilant. It is recommended that investors proceed with heightened caution, particularly in light of recent developments on platforms such as Blast that involve substantial transfers of funds. People can protect their assets by confirming project qualities, looking over audit experiences, and understanding the fund transaction channels. Customers in the neighborhood are also encouraged to exchange information and assist one another in identifying questionable behavior in order to prevent additional victimization.
Munchables, a nonfungible token (NFT) game developed on Blast, experienced a $ 62 million exploit on March 26. Munchables declared that it had been hacked and that it was “trying to stop the transactions” as well as following the exploiter’s whereabouts.
After the Ethereum layer-2 network Blast launched its mainnet on February 29, almost $400 million in ETH was removed, releasing nearly $2.3 billion in staked cryptocurrency that had been locked up on the network. Blast’s total value locked (TVL) has surpassed $2.1 billion, just a few days before its recently announced mainnet launch, which is scheduled for October 31.