RAVE’s hype surge triggers a flood of copycat coin mania, as FF and INX expose the “pump-and-dump” scheme

Rast coins, known for being represented by RAVE, saw gains of dozens of times within just a few days in mid-April, triggering a wave of FOMO as many investors rushed to chase the momentum. However, some former star projects are using this wave of hype to carry out “pump-and-dump” operations. After the FF token surged from $0.07 to $0.1764 within an hour, it quickly crashed. INX, after doubling in price within a single day, saw at least two addresses immediately dump roughly $400k worth of unlocked tokens.

The RAVE Effect: Aggressive Sentiment Gives Rise to a “Scam Coin” Chase Wave

RAVE’s blow-off rally triggers intense momentum-chasing sentiment in the market, with aggressive investors pursuing similar breakout opportunities without regard for risk. It is precisely in this kind of emotional environment that some project teams see a window to cash out quickly.

The logic behind “pump-and-dump” is highly consistent: on a 1-hour chart, they pull a big bullish candle to create a visual illusion of a “scam coin” rally, drawing retail investors to flood in large numbers over a short period. Once the chase-buying pressure forms, the project team then opportunistically dumps their holdings regardless of cost, causing the coin price to plunge rapidly, with the retail buyers’ orders becoming the exit liquidity. The success of this pattern relies on the market being extremely euphoric—when investors widely believe that any rapid surge could be the next RAVE, both the willingness and ability to distinguish real from fake pumps drop significantly.

FF Case: Doubles in 1 Hour, Then Quickly Crashes

On the early morning of April 11, the FF token started at $0.07, doubled within one hour, and continued climbing to a peak at $0.1764. After that, the coin price reversed quickly. As of the time of reporting, it had already fallen back to around $0.07786, nearly returning to the pump’s starting point.

The entire process forms a complete “pump-and-dump” cycle: a rapid surge that creates momentum and attracts chasing capital, followed by a swift sell-off. The project team behind FF previously secured $20 million in conventional funding, but now it needs to smash the market via hype to obtain liquidity—reflecting the project team’s funding difficulties, while also exposing a betrayal of trust toward token holders.

INX Case: On-Chain Records of Exit Selling with No Concealment

Compared with FF’s relative stealth, INX’s exit selling is nearly fully transparent. After the coin price doubled in a day, at least two known addresses immediately quickly dumped approximately $400k worth of unlocked tokens, directly triggering a halving of the coin price. The complete verifiability of the on-chain data clearly records this operation and spreads it widely across the community, further confirming that this round of pumping was a planned exit-selling action.

INX was previously also a darling in the capital markets, backed by up to $65.3 million in funding, yet it now uses retail investors’ losses to exit liquidity.

Key Warning Signs for Identifying “Pump-and-Dump”

Abnormal, Short-Term Surge: On the 1-hour chart, a large bullish candle appears, with no obvious fundamental positive catalyst to support it

Unlocked Addresses Quickly Move Funds: On-chain data shows that a large amount of tokens flow out from known project team addresses within a short time after the surge

Abnormal Trading Volume Structure: Trading volume expands during the pump, but market-making depth is extremely thin

Former Stars, Recently Dormant: High historical funding amounts but lack of substantial recent progress; sudden price anomalies appear

Common Questions

What is the fundamental difference between “pump-and-dump” and natural blow-off rallies like RAVE?

The rally in tokens such as RAVE is driven by multiple market factors. Although it is similarly highly speculative, it is not led by a specific orchestrator to dump. “Pump-and-dump,” on the other hand, is when the project team or a market maker actively manufactures a fake uptrend. Once it attracts enough buy orders, they immediately sell off, making it a deceptive form of market manipulation. The common point between the two is that they are both high-risk, but the latter’s losses are often faster and closer to certain.

How can you identify a project team’s dumping behavior via on-chain data?

You can track transfer records of large token-holder addresses (especially unlocked addresses associated with the project team) during the pumping period. If a large number of tokens rapidly move to exchanges during periods of abnormal price increases, it typically indicates exit-selling behavior. You can use on-chain tracking platforms such as Lookonchain, Etherscan, and Arkham for independent verification.

Why would former star-funded projects take this kind of action?

When a funded project fails to meet expectations for its product and the market valuation continues to decline, it often faces a predicament of running out of operating capital. In the absence of meaningful progress and new investors, using the token unlock cycle to artificially create hype and quickly cash out becomes, for some project teams, a “last resort”—but this action directly harms the interests of token holders and further erodes market trust in the entire industry.