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Anatomy of an Exit Scam: A DeFi Launchpad's Final Days

Public chats, on-chain transfers, and internal documents tell the story of a $62M exit.

By Daniel Okafor, Investigations Editor· May 19, 2026 at 11:11 AM· 12 min read
Anatomy of an Exit Scam: A DeFi Launchpad's Final Days
Anatomy of an Exit Scam: A DeFi Launchpad's Final Days

Public Discord chats, on-chain transfers, and a trove of internal documents obtained by this publication tell the story of how a once-promising DeFi launchpad spent its final eight weeks preparing for an exit scam that ultimately moved $62 million in user funds to anonymous wallets.\n\nThis piece reconstructs the timeline and identifies the operational tells that, in hindsight, predicted the collapse.

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