The team behind OrdiZK (OZK), a cross-chain bridging protocol, has reportedly executed an exit scam, absconding with $1.4 million worth of investors’ cryptocurrency, as per blockchain security platform CertiK.
According to CertiK, on March 4, the deployer account of the protocol allegedly sold 489 million OZK tokens on a decentralized exchange, receiving $132,000 in return. This sale caused the token price to plummet by 98%. Subsequently, on March 5, it sold an additional approximately $214,000 worth of OZK, resulting in an additional 99% drop in price.
Blockchain data confirms that on March 4, the OZK deployer conducted the “execute” function on Uniswap’s Universal Router contract, exchanging around 489 million OZK for 35.65 Ether (ETH). On March 5, it swapped an additional 121 million OZK through the execute function, transferring 0.93 ETH from Uniswap’s OZK/ETH liquidity pool into the deployer account.
Furthermore, the deployer withdrew 57.68 ETH (equivalent to approximately $197,000 at today’s price) from the OZKStake contract by utilizing the “emergencyWithdraw” function. CertiK reveals that the project also possessed $263,000 in a “marketing wallet” and $174,000 in a “treasury wallet,” indicating that the project held over $1.4 million across the three wallets before allegedly executing the exit scam.
The project’s X account, Telegram group, and documents have all been deleted.
In related news, scammers have already swindled hundreds of millions of dollars from victims in the first two months of 2024, according to blockchain security firm Immunefi. As of now, these incidents have resulted in losses of over $200 million. On February 26, gambling protocol RiskOnBlast became the first rug pull on the new Blast network, running away with $1 million of investors’ funds.