I noticed an interesting paradox in the crypto market: everyone is shouting about volatility and risks, but rug pulls continue to hold their annual championship. The only thing is, the prize fund is other people's money.

I remember when LUNA was flying at a hundred bucks. Now it costs $0.06 – just a monument to human greed. USTC also once claimed to be a stablecoin, and now it trades at $0.01. That’s not a price drop, that’s a disappearance of value. In two hours, OM (Manta) plummeted from $6.30 to $0.50 – there’s your speed of light in crypto.

The funniest part? Rug pulls as a national sport. 92% of all losses in 2025 are the result of ONE massive hype that collapsed. And new fraudulent tokens are born at a rate of 15 per hour. It seems humanity has still not learned the lesson of OneCoin.

When prices fall like leaves, investors start looking for something more reliable. And then come the golden stablecoins – seemingly a salvation. PAXG promises one ounce of physical gold per token, XAUT is stored in Swiss vaults. Sounds like a refuge until you realize it’s just another layer of abstraction from the real asset.

DappRadar data shows something interesting: the number of rug pulls has decreased by 66% compared to 2024, but the volume of stolen funds has grown exponentially. It turns out rug pulls are becoming more targeted, more organized. As if crimes are evolving.

Bitcoin is now trading around $74.82K – and that’s still not the “true gold” that optimists talk about. Because gold doesn’t drop 50% in a week. But crypto can.

My favorite joke about the market: rug pulls are like a gypsy wedding – everyone dances, has fun, and in the morning, the money has disappeared. Golden stablecoins are like lifeboats on the Titanic, only there aren’t enough for everyone.

Pessimists are sure that rug pulls will become an Olympic sport by 2030. Optimists believe that education and regulation will reduce the number of victims. The reality? It’s somewhere in the middle, but closer to pessimism.

Here’s the paradox: the real gold in crypto isn’t gold at all, nor a number. It’s just lessons we learn from others’ mistakes. Or from our own, if we’re lucky enough to survive.