Hey there, crypto enthusiasts! If you're into meme tokens and the wild ride of blockchain projects, you've probably heard about Griffin AI and its $GAIN token. But today, we're talking about a not-so-fun twist: a suspected rug pull that tanked the token's price overnight. Thanks to the sharp eyes at Lookonchain, we've got the deets on what went down.
It all started with an unusual on-chain activity spotted earlier today. According to Lookonchain's tweet, a staggering 5 billion $GAIN tokens were minted out of thin air – that's what they call an "abnormal mint." For context, minting tokens means creating new ones, usually controlled by the project's smart contract. When it's abnormal, it often screams exploit or insider foul play.
Part of these new tokens were dumped on the market, fetching 2,956 BNB, which is roughly $3 million in USD. The perpetrators didn't stop there; they bridged the funds to Ethereum using deBridge (a cross-chain transfer tool), swapped them for ETH, and then deposited everything into Tornado Cash. If you're new to this, Tornado Cash is a privacy mixer that breaks the traceability of transactions, making it a go-to for anyone wanting to cover their tracks.
Just look at that chart from CoinGecko – the price of $GAIN nosedived by 85.2% in 24 hours, dropping to a mere $0.003046. The market cap? A paltry $30,493 after the fully diluted valuation got hammered. Trading volume spiked to $104,517, but that's cold comfort for holders watching their investments evaporate.
Unpacking Griffin AI and $GAIN
Griffin AI bills itself as the premier AI agent builder for DeFi (decentralized finance). Head over to their site at griffinai.io, and you'll see boasts about no-code tools for creating autonomous AI agents that handle trading, staking, and more across chains like Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain. They've got a community of over 250,000 users and partnerships with big names like Bithumb.
The $GAIN token, presumably the project's utility or governance token, has a total supply of 1 billion. But with this minting frenzy, questions arise about the contract's security. The contract address listed on CoinGecko is 0xacfc...c92e13 (likely on BSC, given the BNB involvement).
This screenshot from the tweet shows the flow: multiple transfers from addresses labeled "GAIN Hacker" to Tornado Cash's router, with values around $400k-$500k in ETH each. Earlier moves include bridging BNB to ETH via deBridge.
The Involved Addresses
Lookonchain shared these addresses tied to the activity. If you're into sleuthing, check them out on blockchain explorers like BscScan for BSC-related txns or Etherscan for Ethereum:
- 0x107E83EBE677DDec253C440127F23310720177c2
- 0xB31BDDb3d1c2b45E5c5fE149Aa4c8304e9D1916C
- 0xa6654f227EcCF2f84476d2d51434081613F8Baba
- 0x1afc80d0E15cBCBfAAB9aD5520b4ab843Dfd648D
- 0xf1755A2b7d0e418E9BAB4F81AD674fa39fA7F23D
- 0xD4d83C2BC58B97d6458a7AE7d5b417c5422DC04C
- 0xF3d17326130F90c1900bc0B69323C4C7E2d58Db2
Why This Matters for Meme Token Hunters
Meme coins and AI-themed projects like $GAIN can pump hard on hype, but they're prime targets for rugs. This incident underscores the importance of checking for things like audited smart contracts, renounced ownership (where devs can't mint more tokens), and locked liquidity pools to prevent sudden drains.
If you're holding $GAIN or eyeing similar tokens, stay vigilant. Follow on-chain analysts like Lookonchain for real-time alerts, and always diversify to mitigate risks.
What do you think – was this an inside job or a hack? Drop your thoughts in the comments below, and keep checking Meme Insider for more updates on the meme token scene!