Pond0x DEX Touts $100M Volume Amidst Scam Allegations

Decentralized exchange (DEX) Pond0x has reportedly achieved a total trading volume exceeding $100 million despite scam allegations.

In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), the project’s official channel referred to a Dune dashboard that displayed over $111 million in all-time trading volume as of September 29.

As of now, the dashboard shows a total trading volume of $112.4 million. 

Pond0x’s latest milestone comes despite concerns and allegations of scams surrounding the launch of the exchange’s native token, PNDX.

The controversy began when the project launched the PNDX token on July 28. 

Critics accused the project, led by founder Jeremy Cahen (also known as “Pauly”), of being a rug pull or exit scam. 

The concerns centered around the unconventional manner in which Cahen launched the coin. 

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Cahen shared the URL to an app that allowed users to deposit a fixed amount of Ethereum (ETH) in exchange for a fixed amount of PNDX. 

He also provided the contract address for the token.

In response, some investors purchased the coin on Uniswap using its contract address, while others deposited ETH into the app to receive PNDX. 

Investors Lose $2M in PNDX

The price of PNDX on Uniswap quickly surpassed the value of the ETH required to mint PNDX, prompting minters to sell their coins on the market for a profit. 

Critics argued that this process transferred over $2 million from those who bought the coin on Uniswap to those who minted it using the app. 

The ETH deposited through the app went into a contract without any means of reclaiming the funds, leading to allegations that the project was designed to drain funds from investors and benefit Cahen.

Furthermore, coding experts raised concerns about the token’s lack of a normal transfer function.

Instead of limiting token transfers to the owner, PNDX allowed anyone to transfer tokens. 

This meant that PNDX owners were at risk of losing their tokens at any moment, as any programmer could “steal” their PNDX using developer tools. 

On July 29, Solidity enthusiast and blogger Sm-stack claimed to have conducted a test in Foundry that proved this vulnerability.

Despite these issues, Pond0x continues to attract a significant number of supporters on Twitter, with some expressing positive sentiments about the project.

For one, crypto trader and blogger Antony Williams, who claimed to have examined the smart contract code of the app, stated that Pond0x is fundamentally an LP Farm and not a complete scam. 

The app assigns each user an ID, which determines their share of a pool of Pepe tokens. Users can increase their Pepe rewards by calling the “BribeforLevelUp” function, requiring a deposit of 0.26 ETH. 

This ETH is used to purchase Pepe tokens, which are then added to the pool for rewards. 

The exchange also assigns a “Score” to each user, representing their potential rewards from trading fees.

Williams noted that these rewards may not be immediately claimable, but he believes the developer likely intends to distribute them in the future. 

He also suggested that the PNDX token itself is essentially valueless, possibly created in this manner to avoid legal complications.