A reported $18.43 million extracted from 53 memecoin launches may appear to point to a broader network problem. However, the evidence documented so far centers largely on token-launch mechanics, wallet funding patterns and anti-sniping exemptions on a specific launchpad rather than an issue with the Robinhood Chain base layer.
Pseudonymous onchain analyst Wazz alleged in a Sunday thread that a coordinated operation extracted at least $18.43 million from 53 token launches on Robinhood Chain between July 10 and September 21.
The Block reviewed the allegations and confirmed the reported sniping pattern in 10 of the launches, along with one of the fund flows Wazz cited as a connection between the projects. However, it did not independently verify the full $18.43 million figure.
Robinhood Chain’s Memecoin Boom Set the Stage
Robinhood launched Robinhood Chain, an Ethereum layer 2 built using Arbitrum technology, on July 1. Since then, memecoins and tokens linked to stocks have accounted for much of the network’s trading activity.
Pons, the launchpad used in many of the transactions, also contributed to a record $6 million in network fees in a single day earlier this month.
Robinhood’s decision to subsidize gas fees has made deploying tokens relatively inexpensive and predictable. That environment makes a scheme involving 53 launches over roughly two and a half months technically plausible.
However, high-volume and low-cost token creation does not by itself demonstrate an exploit. Instead, it provides the environment in which coordinated launch strategies can operate.
Evidence Centers on Coordinated Token Launches
Wazz claims that almost every launch in the group was hit by sniping, with bundles of 70 to 200 wallets acquiring at least 70% of the token supply. Most of those transactions allegedly used Pons V2.
The analyst connected 45 launches by following payments from one project’s collection wallet into the funding wallet of the next token. Four additional launches were linked through private keys used to sign batch funding transactions, while another four were connected through a shared collector wallet.
CRUMBS represented the largest alleged extraction at $3.12 million, followed by LEGS at $2.9 million and PINK at $1.44 million.
Wazz also identified two other groups of serial deployers allegedly extracting funds from Robinhood Chain that could not be connected to the same operation. If those cases are included, the overall exposure could be higher than the $18.43 million headline figure.
The evidence does not establish the identities of the people controlling the wallets. Wazz’s attribution is based on transaction behavior, shared signing keys, repeated funding routes and common collector addresses. Those patterns can indicate coordination but do not establish a real-world identity or legal responsibility.
How Pons V2’s Anti-Sniping Feature Was Used
Pons V2 launches tokens through a bonding curve. According to its documentation, purchases made during the first few seconds of a launch face a 99% snipe tax, which declines to zero after roughly five seconds.
Creators can bypass that tax by grouping opening purchases across as many as 32 wallets. The feature is designed for legitimate coordinated launches but can create an opportunity for abuse when used differently.
The Block reviewed nine launches from late August onward in which creators exempted between 15 and 25 wallets from the tax. A single transaction occurring one to three blocks later then purchased tokens for all of those wallets simultaneously.
Those transactions drained the bonding curve and moved the tokens directly into a Uniswap v4 pool. As a result, the creator and exempt wallets controlled between 82% and 86% of the supply before ordinary public buyers had an opportunity to participate.
All nine opening transactions used the same unverified contract, which was created on August 28. Wazz said the contract is a commercial bundling tool that has also been used by unrelated users. Of the 53 launches identified in the analyst’s list, 25 reportedly used the contract.
A similar but less extensive pattern appeared earlier. On August 12, the creator of EQUITY exempted 31 wallets, with 21 of those wallets purchasing tokens within approximately one second of launch. The group ended up holding 65.7% of the supply.
DEED Fund Flows Link One Launch to Another
The investigation into the movement of funds centers on DEED, which Wazz said was the starting point for the analysis.
On September 14, 98 wallets holding the earlier DRAFT token transferred 179.88 ETH to a single address in less than three seconds. The funds were then moved to another wallet beginning with 0x9d06.
On September 21, the 0x9d06 wallet sent funds to an address beginning with 0xf268. That wallet subsequently distributed 15.98 ETH among 50 addresses, including DEED’s creator wallet and other wallets that had received launch exemptions.
DEED launched about 40 minutes later, with those wallets collectively holding 86% of the token supply.
The Block tracked 130.75 ETH in sales from 92 wallets funded through 0xf268, along with another 69.06 ETH in creator fees. Together, the flows totaled roughly 199.8 ETH, worth about $535,000.
Wazz’s calculations produced a somewhat different figure because of differences in which wallets were included, putting DEED’s adjusted total at 228.92 ETH.
On September 24, the 0x9d06 wallet sent approximately 86.5 ETH to the Relay bridge, converting the funds into roughly 231,000 DAI while retaining most of the assets in ETH. Those funds remain difficult to freeze while held as ETH in self-controlled wallets.
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