The team behind cross-chain bridging protocol OrdiZK (OZK) has allegedly performed an exit scam, taking off with $1.4 million worth of investors’ cryptocurrency, according to blockchain security platform CertiK.
Certik reports that on March 4, the protocol’s deployer account allegedly dumped 489 million OZK tokens on a decentralized exchange, receiving $132,000 in return. This sale caused the token price to plunge by 98%. Then, on March 5, it sold another approximately $214,000 worth of OZK, causing an additional 99% slippage.
Blockchain data confirms that on March 4, the OZK deployer called the “execute” function on Uniswap’s Universal Router contract, which resulted in approximately 489 million OZK being swapped for 35.65 Ether (ETH). On March 5, an additional 121 million OZK was swapped through the execute function, resulting in another 0.93 ETH being transferred from Uniswap’s OZK/ETH liquidity pool into the deployer account.
The deployer also withdrew 57.68 ETH (approximately $197,000 worth at today’s price) from the OZKStake contract, which it accomplished by calling the “emergencyWithdraw” function. According to Certik, the project also held $263,000 in a “marketing wallet” and $174,000 in a “treasury wallet,” implying that the project held over $1.4 million between the three wallets before it allegedly commenced its exit scam.
The project’s X account has been deleted, along with its Telegram group and documents.
Related: How scammers used misleading code to rug 42K victims — Blockfence
It’s only two months into 2024, but crypto scammers and hackers have already snatched hundreds of millions of dollars from victims. According to blockchain security firm Immunefi, over $200 million has been lost in these incidents in the year so far. On Feb. 26, gambling protocol RiskOnBlast became the first rug pull to occur on the new Blast network, running off with $1 million of investors’ funds in the process.