Base network & BALD crypto

A new cryptocurrency called BALD just recently became live. Technically speaking, it is a token that was created on the Base network, a brand-new blockchain.

THE BOLD blockchain

The Base network, a brand-new blockchain created by Coinbase, is the one on which the BALD crypto coin was released.

Since Base’s mainnet has not yet been released, it is still simply a testnet.

The Base project was first announced in February, and its roadmap was revealed in May.

The issue is that Coinbase has recently come under attack from the SEC after being accused of permitting the purchase and sale of unregistered securities.

It is possible that Base’s native blockchain development has slowed down recently because the cryptocurrency could have been viewed as an unregistered security. However, the issue seems to have been somewhat resolved after the decision in favor of XRP and against the SEC.

Base is a layer-2 for Ethereum, a brand-new chain that, like Polygon, aims to reduce the cost of transactions.

In fact, layer-2s are now widely accepted as the primary short- and medium-term solution for lowering high transaction costs, and it’s possible that exchange customers in particular would profit the most from these new scaling solutions. This is true even for Ethereum.

So it only makes logical that Coinbase would develop its own layer-2 based on its own blockchain. Of course, tokens like BALD might be produced on the Base network.

The digital token BALD

Token creation is already open on Base’s testnet, despite the fact that it is still only in the testnet stage.

One of these is BALD, which is already traded on cryptocurrency exchanges despite not having been released on the mainnet.

Even though it is still in its infancy, it is specifically available for trading on the DEX LeetSwap where it has already had an exciting life.

Additionally, it has recently been listed on SwapBased and SushiSwap.

It is important to note that anyone is free to list tokens on any DEX, and this is something that cannot be stopped.

Therefore, no one could stop the creation of the BALD token, nor could they stop it from being offered for sale on decentralized exchanges.

Notably, the BALD “project” just has a Twitter account with fewer than 10,000 followers and no website at all.

The issues

Practically since the beginning, LeetSwap has had issues with BALD tokens.

The project’s authors were really referring to it as a form of survivor as early as July 31.

The problem is that there was a price crash following an amazing first price boom.

It recorded an astounding +4,000,000% during the previous weekend, from the time it was released until it reached its peak price, in just a few short hours.

After that, it dropped by 99% from its highs, but it seemed to make some progress toward recovery in the days that followed.

This pattern leads many to believe that this was a typical fraudulent pump-and-dump scheme involving someone associated with Alameda Research, the speculative division of the discredited FTX organization in November.

Consider that on the day of the peak, it had more over $100 million in trading volume on a little-known DEX.

Is Bald cryptocurrency a fraud?

It may be a scam or rugpull to undermine Coinbase and its new blockchain. The fact that X (previously Twitter)’s profile is still active proves that its developers have not disappeared with the money.

The truth remains, though, that the pump appeared to be staged, and the subsequent dump may have been brought on by large-scale sales of this token after it rose to an extremely high price.

Given that it is unknown who issued it, who is responsible for it, or what its true purpose was, it is evident that it is a token that is far from transparent.

Theoretically, BALD would be a meme token honoring Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase. Brian Armstrong’s lack of hair may be implied by his initials BA, which stand for “bald.”

All of this does little to support the assertion that this is a genuine endeavor, and it only supports the theory that it is a fraud.

Some early holders of this token profited millions of dollars by selling it following the price spike on July 31, suggesting it was a pump-and-dump plan to take as much money as possible from naive speculators.

On the other hand, if that were the only thing it was, the Twitter account would have been deleted by now, but it was discovered to be live up until yesterday.

It might have been a fraudulent pump-and-dump operation as well as a conspiracy to introduce a memecoin that targets the CEO of Coinbase.

Since trade volumes have dropped below $3 million per day, the experiment fails if the price implodes again. If it continues, it may be a pump&dump scheme orchestrated by an anonymous person.

Even just the fact that someone associated with Alameda Research appears to be involved in the project raises questions about it.