Altcoin ALT Price Plummets 97% After Influencer-Driven $11M Pump-and-Dump Scheme

A coordinated $11 million pump-and-dump scheme involving the altcoin ALT has been exposed by blockchain analyst ZachXBT, implicating a social media influencer known as "Crypto Beast." The operation, which unfolded between May and July 2025, saw a network of 45 interconnected wallets accumulate a significant portion of ALT’s supply across exchanges like KuCoin, Binance, and HTX. These wallets then orchestrated a mass sell-off, triggering a 97% price collapse within 24 hours. The token’s value plummeted from $0.19 to $0.003, erasing $187 million in market capitalization and leaving investors with substantial losses. Blockchain analysis traced the scheme to a public wallet (Ledzo5cdS1RYfX4h391fYC8TF6xkwAC8U77F2pCaH4L) linked to the influencer, who operated under the handle cryptobeastreal on Crypto Twitter.

The scam leveraged aggressive promotional campaigns by Crypto Beast, who touted unrealistic claims such as a $500 million market cap and a top-100 cryptocurrency ranking. These tactics fueled a short-term buying frenzy before the coordinated sell-off. Over 3% of ALT’s total supply—valued at $11 million—was liquidated in a single hour, signaling a strategic abandonment of assets. The influencer’s social media profile and promotional content were later deleted, but on-chain data remains publicly accessible, highlighting the transparency of blockchain ledgers despite efforts to obscure the operation. This pattern mirrors past scams by Crypto Beast, including similar rug pulls with tokens like $ALPHA, $RICH, and $YE, where the same playbook of artificial hype and mass liquidation was employed.

The incident underscores systemic vulnerabilities in the altcoin market, where pseudonymous actors exploit regulatory gaps to execute large-scale fraud. While major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum remained unaffected, the broader DeFi ecosystem faced localized instability, particularly in memecoins. ZachXBT’s investigation revealed that instant exchanges and privacy-focused platforms were used to obscure the perpetrators’ activities until the final stages of the dump. The lack of accountability mechanisms in decentralized markets complicates enforcement, leaving regulators to contend with actors operating under pseudonyms. The case also raises questions about the role of influencers in shaping market sentiment, as unsubstantiated claims can rapidly distort perceptions of a token’s value.

Previous actions by Crypto Beast have resulted in cumulative losses exceeding $20 million, reflecting a recurring pattern of market manipulation. The use of coordinated "sniper wallets" to rapidly acquire and offload tokens highlights the organized nature of such schemes. Despite the immutable nature of blockchain transactions preserving evidence, the anonymity of participants poses challenges for legal recourse. As the industry grapples with influencer-driven manipulation, calls for regulatory oversight have intensified. The ALT incident serves as a cautionary example of the risks inherent in unverified endorsements, particularly in markets where retail investors are vulnerable to coordinated social media campaigns. With no immediate legal consequences for perpetrators like Crypto Beast, the crypto sector faces an ongoing battle against predatory tactics that exploit retail investor trust.