Coin developers and founders know all too well the siren-like allure of CoinMarketCap. Or more specifically, the crypto ranking website’s “Biggest Gainers” section[1] where it’s common to see tokens rallying by more than 500% or even 1,000% in the space of 24 hours. On a day when Bitcoin is floundering, it can be heartening to watch new tokens shoot their way to the moon on a trail of green.
A closer look, however, reveals there is very little verified information about many such tokens. That shouldn’t pose a problem if the project is legitimate. On the flip side, rug pulls are an ever-present danger.
Squid Game [SQUID][2] was one such example. The BSC token shot up by over 2,400% in 24 hours[3], despite CoinMarketCap’s warnings[4] that some users were reportedly unable to sell the token. After the near total crash that left thousands shaken, CMC labeled SQUID[5] as an alleged rug pull.
That’s not the end of the saga, however. Each day brings a new set of top gainers to CMC, with budding projects using everything from Twitter pleas[6] to iPhone giveaways to make sure they land on the front page list.
Far from a “cap” on the beat
Here are just a few dog-themed tokens that enjoyed their place in the sun within the last six months –
HUSKYX’s market data was un-tracked at press time, while UFLOKI[7] and NJF[8] had unverified market caps. Also, HUSKYX’s Twitter previously promised an iPhone giveaway[9] in exchange for users raising the token’s market cap.
So, what is the basis for allowing projects to report their own market cap? A CoinMarketCap official agreed to answer AMBCrypto’s questions under
