OMNI, the native token of Omni Network’s Ethereum rollup-connecting layer-1 testnet blockchain, has suffered a severe setback, with its value plummeting by over 55% within 18 hours of its post-airdrop event.
Initially valued at around $560 million, the token’s market capitalization now is approximately $267.5 million.
The airdrop, which took place on April 17 at 11 a.m. UTC, was a significant event in the OMNI token’s journey. It distributed 3 million OMNI tokens, equivalent to 3% of its total 100 million supply, to various community contributors, including early testnet users, builders, and participants. A substantial portion of this allocation, 1.5 million OMNI tokens, valued at about $36.2 million, was granted to these community members, representing a 50% share in the airdrop.
However, shortly after the airdrop, a fake OMNI token with the same ticker appeared and was used to execute a ‘rug pull’ scam Blockchain security firm PeckShield, in a post on April 18, reported that over 1.7 quadrillion of the fake OMNI token was exchanged for 132 Wrapped Ether (WETH), amounting to approximately $398,000.
#PeckShieldAlert Fake Omni Network $OMNI on #Ethereum has dropped -100%.
The deployer 0x2100A5…7bA3 has dumped 1,769,800,761,000,000 $OMNI for ~132.08 $WETH (worth ~$398K).
*Note*: The #rugpull token shares the same name as the legitimate one pic.twitter.com/uHPMH6Sn6b— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) April 18, 2024
As at press time, the project has not issued a statement regarding the hack or rug pull scam nor the drastic loss of value of its native token.
However, certain stakeholders in the crypto community have voiced concerns, emphasizing the need for improved decentralized finance (DeFi) practices.
Abhishek Bansal, a product manager at Haven1, an EVM-compatible blockchain, in response to PeckShield’s alert, emphasized the need to build verification systems for DeFi projects similar to the Blue Check system of the X (formerly Twitter). In his words, “We need to do DeFi better. Interacting with the future of finance shouldn’t require verifying contracts. Building a Twitter Blue-style application or client-level solution is essential.”
Disclaimer: This piece is intended solely for informational purposes and should not be considered trading or investment advice. Nothing herein should be construed as financial, legal, or tax advice. Trading or investing in cryptocurrencies carries a considerable risk of financial loss. Always conduct due diligence.
If you want to read more news articles like this, visit DeFi Planet and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and CoinMarketCap Community.
“Take control of your crypto portfolio with MARKETS PRO, DeFi Planet’s suite of analytics tools.”
