In an unexpected turn of events, blockchain researchers have charged the President of the Central African Republic (CAR) , Faustin-Archange Touadéra, with running a scam to bilk investors through the launch of the $CAR memecoin. What initially seemed like a legitimate cryptocurrency project has rapidly collapsed into a shambolic wreck, with investors now nursing considerable monetary wounds as a result. The situation has thrown into sharp relief just how little regulatory oversight there is in the world of cryptocurrencies and how easy it is for even well-known political figures to endorse dubious projects. The Rise and Fall of the $CAR Token After an official announcement from President Touadéra, the $CAR memecoin was launched and immediately drew attention. The project gained traction quickly, largely because of the endorsement from the President himself. In just minutes, the market cap of the token shot up from about $580K to an incredible $400 million, and within three hours, that cap had surged to $800 million. Even though the growth we are seeing is impressive, experts are already noticing strange patterns in the tokenomics of the $CAR project. According to blockchain researchers, over 95% of the total supply of the $CAR token was locked away. So, if you believe in the $CAR project and in its future, you have to believe that these tokens, which are mostly sitting there and not doing anything, are somehow going to be part of a healthy ecosystem. If you’re a seasoned trader, though, and you’ve already seen through to the other side of the shiny facade, I guess you could imagine a scenario in which this healthy ecosystem isn’t in play and some of these locked tokens are just waiting around to be used for a bit of not-so-legal price action. The matter became even more unclear with the initiation of a web page for the $CAR token. It was first put forth as a genuine outlet for investor information but turned out to be just as useful and real as the $CAR token. Concurrently, a “real” site was linked. This website was under construction at the time of link and immediately proceeded to have credibility issues. Compounding the problem, the official Twitter account for $CAR was suspended, which added to the mounting suspicion that something shady was going on. The account is still suspended, and the team claims they are working to get the account back online, but there has been no communication with the public since the account was suspended. This has led many to believe that Twitter’s actions were part of an effort to stop what was looking more and more like a scam from happening on their platform. A Massive Dump and Investor Losses The $CAR token was initially very exciting. It shot up in price and then promptly dropped, leaving investors who had jumped on the excitement in an uncomfortable position. In some ways, that makes $CAR like other pump-and-dump schemes. But because $CAR was at least somewhat linked to an actual product that has value, it may represent a new kind of cryptocurrency ne’er-do-well: one with real use cases that nonetheless is not offering real value. And it is seriously affecting $CAR holders. This situation has a part that is particularly worrisome. On-chain evidence connects President Touadéra and his team directly to the bulk of the token’s profits. Blockchain data indicates that the largest wallets controlling $CAR tokens are directly related to the President and his close associates. Those same wallets are believed to have already realized something like $40 million in profits coming directly from unsuspecting investors who’ve bought the token. And the same wallets are still holding another $70 million+ worth of tokens that they’re going to sell at some point. Even more damning evidence emerged from the investigation. The personal digital wallet of President Touadéra, known by the blockchain address DeB4XcwEGdMDfA3nQ2NNfvASzmZA5qHWba7xMkrYaQ9H, reveals that he bought $CAR tokens before the official announcement for just $1,999. When the token launched, he was not holding it for long. He sold off his holdings right away for an enormous profit of $1.7 million. In the interim, he was busy dumping 150 to 250 Solana (SOL) tokens every minute. So his actions were not just illegal; they were causing $CAR to crash. Meet Faustin Touadéra, the first President-crypto scammer He dumped $CAR by 94% and vanished over $110M in 20 hours My research shows African politicians are planning mass rug pulls : How African leaders are ROBBING you and how to fight back pic.twitter.com/ObOsgpKjH5 — Leviathan (@TechLeviathan) February 10, 2025 Even with the substantial evidence of market manipulation, President Touadéra has stuck with calling the launch a “massive success.” In his most recent public statement, he thanked those who had supported the token and reiterated his bullishness about the project’s future. However, these comments are hard to reconcile with the reality of the 99% of investors who have lost a significant amount of money. His assertions also seem to be an effort to quiet the rumor that his account was hacked at the time of the launch. Given the massive amount of evidence suggesting that intentional market manipulation took place, it seems very hard to believe that this was the case. Instead, the whole situation looks like a scam that was pulled off very well, indeed, and that left a whole lot of investors in bad shape after supposedly “going legit.” A Wake-Up Call for the Crypto Market The $CAR problem serves as a clear and sharp warning about the dangers of putting money into cryptocurrencies. These digital assets have a lot of potential but, as with any great opportunity, they also carry a great risk. That risk has been heightened in recent months by the number of bad actors in the space, and by the almost perfect environment they have for pulling off their scams. The situation with $CAR, a digital currency backed by the Central African Republic, reminds us that even the rarebsure bets in the crypto space can go terribly wrong. The $CAR launch fallout is now under examination by both blockchain researchers and regulators. The incident may push the whole cryptocurrency market into increased scrutiny. If the event does lead to tighter regulations and/or a more aware investor base, it’s clear the $CAR token launch will have lasting effects on how digital assets are treated in the future. Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services. Follow us on Twitter @nulltxnews to stay updated with the latest Crypto, NFT, AI, Cybersecurity, Distributed Computing, and Metaverse news ! Image Source: ake1150/ 123RF // Image Effects by Colorcinch
