3 Biggest Crypto Rug Pulls (Dec 2024 – Mar 2025)
Between December 2024 and March 2025, several major crypto projects collapsed despite starting strong with over $100 million in market cap. Here are the 3 biggest rug pulls during this period.
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1. $LIBRA – Argentina’s Crypto Disaster
Peak Market Cap: $4.6 billion
Crash: From $5.20 to $0.99 in less than 1 hour
Who’s Behind:
Hayden Davis (CEO of Kelsier Ventures)
Mauricio Novelli (Advisor to President Milei)
President Javier Milei (Main promoter)
Summary:
$LIBRA was supposed to boost Argentina’s economy. Instead, the team sold 70% of the supply during the hype, causing $250M in losses. Major lawsuits followed.
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2. $HAWK – Celebrity Meme Coin Failure
Peak Market Cap: $500 million
Crash: From $500M to $60M in just 20 minutes
Who’s Behind:
Haliey Welch ("Hawk Tuah Girl")
3 anonymous partners
Summary:
$HAWK exploded fast but crashed even faster. 96% of tokens were in the hands of 10 wallets. Welch denied involvement but faced legal action.
3. DIO – Game Token Pump and Dump
Peak Market Cap: $100M+
Crash: From $0.58 to $0.007 (down 98.8%)
Who’s Behind:
Jump Trading
Fracture Labs (Decimated game creators)
Summary:
DIO token was manipulated through influencers and internal dumping by big players, leaving small investors with heavy losses.
Key Takeaways
Always check token distribution.
Be cautious with tokens hyped by celebrities or political figures.
Independent audits matter.
If something looks too easy or hyped — stay alert!