Base Layer
Posts
😮 SBF's latest scam?

😮 SBF's latest scam?

PLUS: FTX is back

Alex M.
August 01, 2023

GM everyone. This is 2036, the crypto newsletter that pays you.

Here’s what we’re serving up today 🍲: over the weekend, a new token skyrocketed nearly +4,000,000%. Yesterday, it almost went to zero. Now we find out Sam Bankman-Fried might have been involved.

Let’s dig in.

🥔 Today’s meat and potatoes

Get smarter on crypto in 2 minutes

There’s a new trend in town: betting on Brian Armstrong, the founder of Coinbase, because he’s bald.

I know - the IQ level in the crypto world isn’t always worth envying.

For months, crypto degenerates have looked at the chart of Coinbase stock ($COIN) and said screw the fundamentals - if Brian is bald = stock goes up 📈

Whenever COIN goes down the first thing I do is check if Brian is still bald
— Scootdart (@scootdart)
3:11 PM • Feb 15, 2023

A few months ago, Brian and Coinbase launched a new blockchain called Base.

And it didn’t take long for it to get taken over by degenerates.

Over the weekend, someone created a cryptocurrency on the blockchain called $BALD.

Yes, that’s bald as in bald Brian.

In less than two days, it reached a market cap of $85 MILLION 😱

That’s a +4,000,000% return.

In the process, one trader turned $500 into $2 MILLION…in 2 days.

Almost 2M bags...
These past 2 days have been like 2 weeks in my life, lot of things happening in just hours.
Hundreds of DMs, thousands of notifications.
Thanks to those who are happy for me and have congratulated me.
$BALD
— cheatcoiner.eth (@cheatcoiner)
12:17 PM • Jul 31, 2023

Well - it turns out the adventure was short-lived. In the last 24 hours, the coin is down -93%.

ouch

It looks like a classic rug pull:

A developer creates a coin in 5 min
He hypes it like crazy on Twitter
He sells everything and pockets (a lot of) $$
Almost everyone besides the developer loses everything.

But here’s where it gets interesting.

The coin developer netted a cool $6M from the short-lived hype. And the successful trader above may have been in on it.

When we look at his blockchain activity, the developer’s funds are tied to Alamada Research, the defunct hedge fund of conman Sam Bankman Fried, founder of FTX.

In fact, there are rumors that it could be SBF himself.

No, he’s not actually bald… or is he?

Rumors speculate that SBF created the coin in his parents’ basement while on house arrest.

Crazy.

Even if it isn’t him, it may be someone close to him or with close ties to Alamada and FTX.

Other rumors speculate the developer could be an insider from Coinbase.

That’d be real bad for Brian.

We’ll probably find out eventually.

But in the meantime, here are some 2036 golden rules for dealing with rug pulls like $BALD:

1/ There will be an increasing number of rug pulls as the market heats up.

They’re an easy way for developers to prey on investors looking to get rich quickly.

That’s why you should only swing for the fences with a small part of your portfolio (max 5-10%).

All get-rich-quick schemes are just other people trying to get rich off of you. Only gamble what you can afford to lose.

2/ Be careful with FOMO.

Most people know that deep down, their rationale for investing in shitcoins doesn't hold up.

To erase their doubt, they’ll try and convince others of their half-baked beliefs.

After all, if others believe it too, it can’t be that bad.

They do this by inducing FOMO (fear of missing out).

But FOMO is often just a masquerade for half-assed thinking.

The harder someone tries to convert you to their beliefs, the faster you should be running away.

And if you ever find yourself trying to convince yourself - it’s time to pause and reflect.

3/ Cults are powerful.

We’ve talked about cults before. They have the power to reshape society.

Bitcoin is a cult. Ethereum is a cult. Memecoins are cults. Elon Musk’s fans are a cult. Most great movements are cults.

We all crave to belong to something bigger than ourselves.

But this can massively backfire too.

For every Dogecoin or $PEPE, there are thousands of coins that rug pull and go to 0.

For every millionaire who takes profits, there are a thousand investors like you and me who held onto their losses in the hopes of being part of something great.

So learn to differentiate good cults from bad cults, and if you’re swinging for the fences - never invest more than you can afford to lose.

Even from his house arrest, SBF can scam you out of your crypto.