Wash trading on Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Coinbase’s Base hit an estimated $2.57 billion in 2024, according to analysts at Chainalysis.
Nearly 5% of all tokens launched across various networks in 2024 year had patterns similar to pump-and-dump schemes, blockchain forensic firm Chainalysis claims. In a blog post on Jan. 29, the New York-based firm revealed that more than 3 million tokens were launched in 2024, with nearly 1.3 million (over 40%) listed on decentralized exchanges.
Despite the figure, only a small fraction — just 1.7% — has been actively traded in the last 30 days. Chainalysis suggests the gap could be because many tokens were “abandoned shortly after creation,” possibly due to lack of interest. The analysts also note that some of these tokens could have been part of short-lived schemes such as pump-and-dumps or rug pulls.
“It is also possible that some of these tokens facilitate intentional short-lived schemes designed to exploit initial hype before fading away, also known as pump-and-dumps or rug pulls.”
Chainalysis
On top of that, nearly 90% of decentralized exchange pools suspected of being involved in pump-and-dump schemes were “rugged” by the address that created the DEX pool, Chainalysis note. The rest were rugged by addresses funded by the pool or token creator. In some cases, the pool creator and the address that rugged the pool seemed to be funded by the same source, suggesting a coordinated effort to exploit users.
The analysts point out that the wash trading volume across Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Coinbase’s Base reached about $2.57 billion in 2024, though the firm acknowledges using “different methodologies” to detect various types of wash trading.
