Dubai-based Indian memecoin creator, Sahil Arora, referred to as memecoin rug pull schemes the most profitable alternative in an interview with the New York Put up. In accordance to the Might 17 article, Arora, who boasts of incomes thousands and thousands of {dollars} from over 100 memecoin rug pulls, stated:
“The best way to make cash is to deploy a meme coin, run it, after which promote as quickly as you see [profits].”
In rug pulls or pump-and-dump schemes, unhealthy actors create a nugatory memecoin, use false or paid endorsements to market it, and promote it as quickly as the worth goes up. The creators normally management a big portion of the tokens, and promoting off the pile causes the worth to crash.
Due to this fact, traders bear the losses whereas the creator makes off with thousands and thousands. In August 2024, crypto sleuth ZachXBT estimated that Arora earned between $2 million and $3 million by memecoin scams.
Final 12 months, Arora told The Defiant that it “took a lotta mind pulling that [rug pulls] off.” Arora, who’s proud to have been referred to as a “tremendous villain,” openly informed the Put up that rug pulling is the “greatest on line casino on Earth proper now.”
Veteran crypto investor Kyle Chassé informed the Put up:
“…at the very least in the on line casino, you recognize that perhaps 60 p.c of the time the home wins. On this [crypto] on line casino, the home goes to win 99 p.c of the time.”
Arora added:
“For those who don’t get rugged by me, you’re most likely going to get rugged by another person. So, you may as effectively get rugged by an individual with a monitor file of some success somewhat than getting rugged by a random individual on the Web.”
Arora continues to perform memecoin rug pulls
Final 12 months, a number of celebrities accused Arora of utilizing memecoins linked to them to orchestrate and pull off pump-and-dump scams. This included former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner, Dimitri Leslie Roger, an American rapper generally known as Wealthy the Child, and Australian rapper Iggy Azalea.
Regardless of the accusations and Arora’s non-denial of involvement, he managed to pull off extra rug pulls. In February 2025, Arora, who portrays a lavish life-style from cash earned by rug pulls, launched the token BROCCOLI, an ode to former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ’s) canine, utilizing the similar pockets he used to launch Jenner’s official memecoin in 2024. Arora told Decrypt that he made $6.5 million by dumping Brocolli tokens.
Pseudonymous crypto guide Cryptony informed the Put up that the worth of memecoins like Brocolli solely goes up as a result of of giant demand after endorsements or promotions. He added:
“[In rug pulls] The wealthy get richer. For one individual to make cash, one other individual has to lose cash. That’s the place it comes from.”
Arora is one of many
A number of influencers have been accused of selling memecoins that crash in worth. This consists of YouTuber Paul “Ice Poseidon” Denino, Faze Kay, and Haliey “Hawk Tuah Woman” Welch.
Denino reportedly emptied out the liquidity pool of his memecoin two weeks after launch. He admitted to stealing the cash from traders, together with his whole loot standing at round $750,000.
Faze Kay was accused of selling a token referred to as Save the Children that crashed. Welch, whose memecoin HAWK misplaced 95% of its worth in minutes, nonetheless, was cleared by the U.S. Securities and Trade Fee (SEC) of any wrongdoing, in accordance to her supervisor.
