The decentralized exchange (DEX), Pond0x, has reportedly surpassed a trading volume of $100 million, even amid claims of fraudulent activities.
In a recent update on X (previously known as Twitter), the exchange’s official account highlighted a Dune dashboard that showed a cumulative trading volume of over $111 million as of September 29.
Currently, the dashboard reflects a total trading volume amounting to $112.4 million.
This achievement for Pond0x is notable, especially in light of the prevailing skepticism and scam accusations linked to the introduction of its proprietary token, PNDX.
The stir began with the debut of the PNDX token on July 28.
The project, spearheaded by founder Jeremy Cahen, commonly known as “Pauly”, faced allegations of orchestrating a rug pull or exit scam.
The skepticism primarily revolved around Cahen’s atypical approach to introducing the coin.
In an update on X (previously referred to as Twitter), Cahen posted a link to an application where users could exchange a set quantity of Ethereum (ETH) for a predetermined amount of PNDX. Along with this, he provided the contract address for the token.
As a result, some investors opted to buy the coin on Uniswap using its contract address, whereas others chose to deposit their ETH directly into the app to acquire PNDX.
Investors Lose $2M in PNDX
The valuation of PNDX on Uniswap swiftly outpaced the amount of ETH needed to create PNDX, leading those who minted the coin to capitalize on this disparity by selling their holdings for a higher return.
Detractors contended that this mechanism channeled over $2 million from those who procured the coin on Uniswap to those who generated it via the app.
The ETH funneled into the system through the app was locked into a contract, with no avenue to retrieve the invested assets. This sparked suspicions that the initiative’s primary design was to siphon off investments, chiefly benefiting Cahen.
Moreover, those adept in coding highlighted anomalies within the token’s functionalities. Notably, the token did away with the customary transfer function.
Instead of restricting token movements to its proprietor, PNDX was constructed to permit any user to relocate tokens.
This opened up the possibility that any holder of PNDX could unexpectedly part with their tokens, since any adept coder could exploit the system and essentially “commandeer” their PNDX through specialized tools.
A day after the token’s launch, on July 29, a blogger and Solidity enthusiast named Sm-stack asserted that he had performed a test in Foundry that demonstrated this security flaw.
Nevertheless, Pond0x hasn’t lost its allure entirely and still garners a notable following on Twitter. There’s a fair share of the audience that remains optimistic about the project.
For instance, Antony Williams, a crypto trader and blogger who claims to have dissected the smart contract code associated with the application, opined that Pond0x fundamentally operates as an LP Farm and isn’t entirely fraudulent.
The application allocates a unique ID to each participant, dictating their proportionate entitlement from a collective reservoir of Pepe tokens. An avenue for users to augment their Pepe token earnings is by invoking the “BribeforLevelUp” function, which necessitates a 0.26 ETH deposit.
The deposited ETH is then employed to acquire Pepe tokens. Subsequently, these tokens are funneled into the reward pool.
Moreover, the platform allots a “Score” to every user, indicative of their potential remunerations stemming from transaction fees.
Williams observed that while these accrued rewards might not be readily accessible for withdrawal, it’s plausible that the developer has plans to roll them out at a later stage.
Additionally, he inferred that the PNDX token might inherently lack value. Its design in such a fashion could potentially be a strategy to sidestep any legal entanglements.
