The crypto wallet address shared by American A-list celebrity rapper Cardi B while promoting WAP tokens has been traced back to a seasoned crypto scammer.
On Oct. 8, Cardi B’s official X account shared a promotional post for WAP, a cat-themed memecoin and abbreviation of “Wet Ass Pussy.” Along with a video of WAP’s mascot, an animated cat, Cardi B shared a wallet address, which was flagged by crypto investigators.
Source: Cardi B
Pseudonymous blockchain sleuth Wazz’s initial investigation revealed that Cardi B’s wallet address had links to numerous rug pull projects. Crypto investigation firm PeckShield suspected that a crypto scammer hacked Cardi B’s X account.
Did Cardi B pre-plan WAP memecoin launch?
However, Cardi B recently posted a few cat-related tweets, which suggests that the decision to reveal the WAP token was pre-planned.
Source: Cardi B
Wazz also dismissed Peckshield’s speculation about a possible account hack. The blockchain sleuth told Peckshield:
“She’s not compromised, it was planned, multiple shills/cartoon/prev tweets. Also, you’re viewing the wrong pool. It has 700K liq.”
Irrespective of whether it is a scam or a legitimate project, crypto community members have noted the prevalence of scams and rug pulls associated with celebrity tokens.
BubbleMaps, a blockchain data visualization platform, found that 60% of the WAP supply was bundled at launch. Moreover, it noted that around $500,000 worth of tokens had already been dumped within 10 hours of the project’s launch.
Source: Bubblemaps
Cardi B project suspected of rug pull
According to Bubblemaps, 15 crypto addresses were previously funded by a crypto exchange wallet. The same address transferred their WAP holdings, spread across roughly 100 wallets. The firm added:
“In an attempt to hide from Bubblemaps, all wallets involved in the bundling transferred their tokens one-to-one to brand-new addresses 4 hours ago. Good try.”
Fellow A-lister and rapper Iggy Azalea, who also promotes her own version of celebrity memecoin, Mother Iggy (MOTHER), took a dig at Cardi B’s token reveal.
Source: Iggy Azalea
Related: Celebrity memecoin promoter Sahil Arora banned by X
Some X users also suspected the return of Sahil Arora, the mastermind behind the launch of numerous celebrity memecoins.
In August, crypto investigator ZachXBT estimated that Sahil earned netted over $3 million in 2024 from launching a deluge of celebrity memecoins.
Source: ZachXBT
Arora has been accused of perpetrating social engineering scams and other fraudulent activity by a wide range of people, including celebrities and crypto industry players.
Magazine: Anti-aging tycoon Bryan Johnson almost devoted his life to crypto