Researchers study over 500 cryptocurrency pump and dump schemes

A group of researchers from major universities released a paper examining 500 crypto-related pump and dump (P&D) schemes. Examining data from May 15, 2017 to August 26, 2018, researchers found 3,400+ P&D announcements from 80 active Telegram channels. Of these announcements 1,747 were unique. The researchers restricted their attention to 500 distinct P&D schemes involving 230+ tokens. From this sample size the data revealed that:

THE SCOOP

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  • In 229 P&Ds, pump groups specified the returns they target, with the average target return being 212%.
  • On average, approximately two tokens are pumped per day and the likelihood that a token will be pumped on any given day is 0.3%.
  • In the first 70 seconds after the start of a P&D, the price of a token increased by 25% on average and trading volume increased 148 times.

(Source: SSRN)

About Author

Steven Zheng is a researcher for The Block. He joined The Block in August 2018. Steven graduated from St. John’s University with a degree in economics. Previously, he covered blockchain and crypto at Radicle, a startup analytics firm. He also had brief stints at Cheddar, a media startup, and Bowery Capital, a venture capital firm. He owns bitcoin. Follow Steven on Twitter at: @Dogetoshi

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