The cryptocurrency community was shaken by news of a significant financial loss following a rug pull involving Lena Network’s newly launched Candy (CANDY) token, which saw its value plummet by over 87%.
This drastic drop resulted from the unauthorized transfer of 753 Ether (ETH), equivalent to $2.9 million, to an exchange, marking a stark downfall for the token from its daily high.
Data from Dexscreener revealed that the value of the Candy token nosedived to $0.38, a steep decline from its earlier daily peak of $3.08.
This downturn was triggered when on-chain evidence exposed that the Lena Network deployer’s address had moved 753.11 ETH to an address connected to the OKX exchange on March 6.
This event unfolded mere hours before Lena Network’s declaration of officially relinquishing the token contract’s ownership, leaving the protocol’s response to the incident pending at the time of reporting.
Lena Network had successfully gathered over 850 ETH ($3.2 million) through its initial farm offering for the Candy token, which concluded on March 3.
Despite the promising start, the token’s launch on March 6 was quickly overshadowed by its sharp decrease in value.
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The incident with Lena Network and Candy token is part of a broader issue plaguing the cryptocurrency sector, characterized by an alarming frequency of rug pulls and hacks.
A report by blockchain security firm Immunefi highlighted that the crypto community has already faced a loss exceeding $200 million due to such malicious activities in 2024 alone, across 32 distinct events.
This figure marks a 15.4% increase from the losses recorded in the first two months of 2023.
Despite a nearly 50% reduction in losses in February compared to January, the persistent threat of cyber theft looms large, with over $1.8 billion lost to crypto hacks and scams in 2023, including significant contributions from the notorious Lazarus Group.
