- Manta Network faces money laundering allegations amid global exchanges listing.
- Korean BD’s token dump prompts a $5.16M ETH conversion and transfer.
In a shocking turn of events, Manta Network, a zero-knowledge Layer 2 blockchain, has found itself embroiled in controversy as allegations of money laundering surface following its listing on major exchanges such as Binance, Bithumb, and KuCoin. The storm began when approximately 2 million MANTA tokens were reportedly transferred to the personal wallet of MANTA’s Korean Business Development (BD) representative on the day of its Binance listing.
The suspicious activity continued as these tokens swiftly made their way to a Bithumb wallet, constituting over 75% of the exchange’s total circulation volume. Within a mere 5 minutes of listing, the price of MANTA on Bithumb soared to an astonishing $230, marking a staggering 100x increase from its initial price of $2.26, as reported by Definalist, a DeFi degen in South Korea.
. @MantaNetwork was suspected of money laundering through Bithumb on the day of listing
— Definalist (@definalist) January 18, 2024
– 2M $MANTA transferred to personal wallet of MANTA’s Korean BD
– 2M $MANTA was deposited into Bithumb deposit wallet, accounting for more than 75% of Bithumb’s total circulation volume.
-… pic.twitter.com/uMWq6J6D37
The plot thickened as the Korean BD purportedly dumped all 2 million MANTA tokens at a premium ranging from 50 to 100 times the listing price. This move allegedly yielded proceeds amounting to $5.16 million, subsequently converted to 2094.7 Ethereum (ETH) and transferred to the BD’s wallet, as per transactions recorded on Etherscan.
South Korea, renowned for its stringent regulations on money laundering and financial transactions, may impose severe penalties if these allegations are substantiated. The actions of the BD have sent shockwaves through the crypto community, raising concerns about the integrity of Manta Network’s operations.
Manta Network’s Statement
However, Manta Network promptly released a statement refuting these claims. According to their statement, the project involved establishing a branch in South Korea, necessitating the allocation of community funds to the Korean BD in line with the token economic model. The network also unveiled plans to set up a branch in Hong Kong to expand its presence in Asia.
Adding to the turmoil, Manta Network faced a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack immediately after its successful listing on Binance. Despite the onslaught of over 135 million remote procedure call (RPC) requests, the blockchain continued to operate securely, safeguarding all funds. The attack, characterized as both ‘aggressive’ and ‘timed,’ had a significant impact on communication between applications and the blockchain.
