Hooked Protocol team suspected of insider trading

Journalist Colin Wu drew attention to suspicious transactions from the official wallet of the Web3 platform Hooked Protocol, warning of possible insider trading.

The community questioned the Binance IEO project Hook for alleged insider trading. Two to four hours before the announcement of the $50 million fund, a multi-signature address suspected to be from the offical project transferred HOOK worth $4.52 million to Binance. After HOOK…

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) December 1, 2023

According to on-chain data, allegedly linked to the project, a multisig address transferred to Binance about 4.94 million HOOK tokens (~$5.4 million at the time of writing).

This occurred a few hours before the announcement of Hooked’s $50 million fund.

To kickstart the HOOKED 2.0 proposal, Hooked Protocol will introduce a $50 Million Education Ecosystem Fund and embark on educational institution collaborations. pic.twitter.com/HYPM473oF3

— Hooked Protocol? (@HookedProtocol) November 30, 2023

Following the announcement, the token rose to $1.24, then fell to around $1.05. This movement was accompanied by a substantial spike in trading volumes.

Some users expressed outrage under the post and urged an investigation into fraud. Notably, the HOOK token was part of the Binance Launchpad program.

One participant in the discussion offered an unpopular view and reminded of the high risks in the market.

This is cryptocurrency; volatility is its backbone. You are not trading a $500 billion company but a small-cap project. It is subject to even greater volatility and could fall to $0.25, and no one should be surprised by it. Think about what you are trading and what you invest in.

— Karol Wacowski (@WacowskiKarol) December 1, 2023

«This is cryptocurrency; volatility is at its core. You are not trading a company worth $500 billion, but a small-cap project. It is subject to even greater volatility and could fall to $0.25, and no one should be surprised by it. Think about what you are trading and what you invest in», he wrote.

In October, at least three Reddit moderators caught in insider trading. They dumped the Community Points loyalty program tokens before the official announcement of the initiative’s termination.