The cryptocurrency industry lost at least $154 billion in 2025, largely due to scams and the activity of sanctioned entities.
A common crypto scam is the rug pull, which is quite prevalent in the memecoin trenches.
They involve a developer withdrawing liquidity or funds, causing the project to collapse and leaving the investors with worthless assets.
Source: Chainalysis
Flagging memecoin rug pulls
The alleged Argentina-linked Libra memecoin was perhaps the most notable rug pull in 2025.
The project developers, a firm linked to Hayden Davis, reportedly withdrew $87 million from the token’s liquidity pool, triggering a 95% price crash.
Investors lost over $250 million and nearly brought the Argentinian government to a halt.
But Libra wasn’t the first and certainly won’t be the last. To protect your hard-earned money from scams, here are key ways to sniff out a rug pull.
Tracking liquidity pool
Some users avoided the Libra scandal immediately after the team withdrew liquidity. That’s one of the telltale signs of a crafty and dishonest project. Bolt out once the developers pull such a move.
Low liquidity means that a small price move could crash the project. A liquidity of 10-20% of the token’s market cap is considered healthy.
The liquidity should also be locked with the DEX for a specified period to ensure developers can’t manipulate the price.
Holder count
Holder concentration and wallet distribution can also shed more light on the team’s actions. A risky project will likely have the top 10 holders controlling over 30% of the token supply.
Solscan and other explorers can help check this. Bubblemaps also maps out wallet distribution and funding.
Risk score
Some DEX platforms have a risk score that could flag a rug pull even before engaging with it. Gecko Terminal (GT), for example, has a GT Score out of 100 alongside third-party audits.
Source: Gecko Terminal
According to Gecko Terminal, the WhiteWhale token shared above has a GT Score of 93, indicating locked liquidity and audits, which suggests it is safe.
These scores combine on-chain and off-chain data sets to track the project’s health.
Wallet activity and memecoin trading volume
Finally, developer wallet activity and quality of volumes can also help gauge a memecoin project. You’ll want to check whether the developer wallets are selling or holding.
Any excess selling from the team may suggest they’re exiting the project.
To assess volume, examine the number of unique buyers, transaction count, and Buy/Sell Ratio to determine whether the token has genuine trading traction or is subject to wash trading.
Blockchain explorers, such as Solscan’s analytics section, can help with this.
Source: Solscan
Final Thoughts
- Rug pulls and overall scams were key drivers of illicit crypto flows in 2025.
- Solana-based memecoin traders can use Bubblemaps and Solscan for an accurate checklist.