On July 21, the founder of the cryptocurrency hedge fund ETHTrustFund, known by the pseudonym Reng, transferred $2.2 million to a new wallet after three months of inactivity. Several on-chain analysts reported a likely rug pull.
RUG ALERT ?
Yesterday, the project known as ETHTrustFund (@ethtrustfund_ now deleted) sent +$2M from the treasury to a new wallet, after months of intentional inactivity by the dev, it seems that he has decided to steal the funds ? pic.twitter.com/YcswifyHmQ
— Octoshi.eth (@0ctoshi) July 21, 2024
The funds from the treasury wallet were first sent to a new address, then exchanged for Ethereum and laundered using the mixers Railgun and Tornado Cash.
Reng deleted the official Telegram and X accounts of the project, as well as his personal accounts on these platforms. The ETHTrustFund website is down, but the documentation remains accessible.
The decentralized hedge fund ETHTrustFund attracted funding amid the hype surrounding the launch of the Base blockchain, ETFs, and meme tokens. It promised users “the highest returns on Earth” through investments in early-stage projects and participation in exclusive Base airdrops.
The project also claimed to have created a new token standard that purportedly allowed for maximizing staking returns while protecting its value for holders.
Earlier in June, the Gemholic project from the zkSync ecosystem was accused of a $3.4 million rug pull.