‘WallStreetBets’ Themed Tokens Plummet 90% as Insider Dumps Treasury Holdings

WSB prices fell sharply as the apparent token sale by insiders led to token holders dumping holdings en masse.

AccessTimeIconMay 4, 2023 at 6:44 a.m. UTC
Updated May 4, 2023 at 3:32 p.m. UTC

WallStreetBets (WSB) token, which is linked to the popular WallStreetBets subreddit, has dropped 90% in the past 24 hours after an insider closely connected to the project dumped a large amount of WSB.

WSB's market capitalization had jumped to over $50 million in just under three days.

Blockchain sleuth @Zachxbt warned holders of the sales early on Thursday morning, stating one @zjzWSB had “dumped a large portion of the WSB team supply for $635K (334 ETH).”

@ZachXBT said in a separate tweet that yet another token insider called “OIP” signed these transactions that were held on a multisignature wallet – one apparently existing for the team to fund marketing and exchange listing plans.

The insider sale led to token holders dumping their holdings en masse, which contributed to the 90% price fall.

Previously, Crypto Twitter community members received an airdrop of nearly seven ether (ETH) worth of WSB tokens for simply pasting their crypto wallet addresses on @WSBmod’s tweet, one of the pseudonymous creators of wsb tokens.

This helped the tokens to quickly go viral on Crypto Twitter, where holders heralded the “official, unofficial token” as another boost in the ongoing meme coin frenzy – one that has birthed the likes of pepe (PEPE) and wojak (WOJAK), or tokens based on memes rooted in popular internet culture.

Meanwhile, @WSBMod remained hopeful of recovery and warned of legal action against @zjzWSB on Thursday morning.

"Hey @zjzWSB , if you don't get in touch with me within 4 hours I will file a police and FBI report,” @WSBMod tweeted. “You are fully doxxed. I don't understand why you would do this.”

“You can still return the money,” he added.

Blockchain data shows none of the tokens were returned as of writing time.

In a turn of events in U.S. morning hours on Thursday, @zjzWSB alleged that @WSBMod was "constantly, secretly" draining tokens with airdrop that he had sent to himself.

"Need crypto chad devs who can help sort this out. Want to send a contract {x} eth and be claimable by those long (not via airdrop) before dump. WSB Coin was engineered to enrich wsbmod (lol imagine). Sorry it took me too long to notice," @zjzWSB tweeted.

UPDATE (May 4, 13:00 UTC): Adds response from zjzWSB.

Edited by Parikshit Mishra.

DISCLOSURE

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.

Shaurya Malwa

Shaurya is the Deputy Managing Editor for the Data & Tokens team, focusing on decentralized finance, markets, on-chain data, and governance across all major and minor blockchains.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk’s longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.


Read more about