Blockchain investigator ZachXBT recently uncovered a potential rug pull on the Solana (SOL) trading platform Aqua, where approximately 21.77k SOL worth $4.65 million was drained. This incident comes as a shock, especially after Aqua had received endorsements from major ecosystem partners and had successfully passed security audits.
Aqua had marketed itself as a trading infrastructure that aimed to provide equal access to all traders, regardless of their status as insiders or whales. The platform boasted impressive statistics, claiming to have processed over $90 million in trading volume with execution speeds as fast as milliseconds. Additionally, Aqua had promised revenue sharing through its AQUA token, which would distribute trading fees to token holders through buy-and-burn mechanisms and staking rewards.
The project had conducted a public token sale, where investors could send SOL to a designated address and receive AQUA tokens upon launch. The protocol managed to raise $1 million in just 30 minutes, showcasing significant interest in the project.
Aqua had garnered credibility through partnerships with reputable Solana entities such as Meteora, Helius, SYMMIO, and Dialect, as well as the support of various influencers. The project had also received validation from QuillAudits, which had given Aqua a high security score of 99.7% in their assessment.
However, ZachXBT’s investigation revealed that funds from Aqua were transferred through intermediary addresses and then sent to multiple instant exchanges shortly before the rug pull was discovered. The Aqua team had disabled replies on all social media posts following the incident, leading to further suspicion.
Ethos Network CEO Serpin Taxt confirmed that Aqua had reached out to his team for collaboration before suddenly disappearing. The project had even deleted messages sent through Telegram, adding to the mystery surrounding their actions.
Aqua had launched its token through a unique “Liquidity Ladder” model, which was meant to ensure deep launch liquidity and fair price discovery. Despite the rug pull, Aqua published a new smart contract address and claimed that their Medium account had been unexpectedly suspended, preventing them from sharing a detailed explanation.
Meteora co-lead Soju addressed accusations that the platform had inadvertently supported a scam project. Soju emphasized their commitment to supporting teams that use their technology and acknowledged the need to improve internal processes to prevent similar incidents in the future.
As of now, there is no formal confirmation that Aqua had conducted a rug pull, but the suspicious transactions and lack of communication from the team have raised concerns within the community. The project’s future remains uncertain as investors await further updates on the situation.