Friendsies RUG Revealed | NFT CULTURE | Web3 Culture NFTs and Crypto Art
The non-fungible token (NFT) project Friendsies has recently been met with controversy following the sudden announcement of a “pause” in development and the deletion of its Twitter account. Rumors have circulated that the project is a cover-up, as users who asked questions were blocked, and notable people who hyped the collection have been singled out by Twitter users.
Friendsies had launched their NFTs in 2022 and managed to raise approximately $5 million with the first drop. The LA-based art duo behind the project, Friendswithyou, aimed to make 10,000 Friendsies, partnering with Christie’s to sell nine early mint cards for the collection. However, following the project’s hiatus announcement, Friendsies removed their Twitter account and users found their accounts blocked.
In the initial announcement, Friendsies stated that market conditions were the catalyst for the collection’s hiatus, but this has not stopped rumors that the project is a blanket move. The collection’s bottom price is currently 0.011 ETH, or around $18, with a trading volume of 3,774 ETH or approximately $6.3 million. When the collection was launched, the Dutch auction opened with a starting price of 3.33 ETH, equivalent to $12,000 per token.
The project had lofty ambitions, including a monetization game, a community fund, and an expansion of the brand’s intellectual property. Unfortunately, none of these plans came to fruition. Friendsies’ sudden hiatus and deletion of its Twitter account has left many collectors and enthusiasts with unanswered questions and concerns about the project’s future.
Friendsies respond
˙ᵕ˙ – Dear community,
It is clear that we have upset many of you with the nature of our announcement and perhaps we did not handle it in the best way. To be perfectly clear, we are not abandoning FRIENDS. Our only intention was to be transparent and communicate with
— FRIENDSiES (@fRiENDSiES_Ai) 21 February 2023
Defining a RUG PULL
An NFT rug pull is a type of scam where the creators of a non-fungible token (NFT) project make off with investors’ funds or tokens after convincing them to invest in the project. The name “rug pull” is a reference to the act of pulling a rug out from under someone, as it involves suddenly and unexpectedly pulling out of the project, leaving investors with worthless NFTs and no way to recover their investment.
The creators of an NFT blanket can hype the project and create a sense of urgency to invest, often promising high returns or exclusive access to rare NFTs. They may also use tactics such as limiting access to tokens or artificially inflating their value to create a false sense of demand. Once they have attracted enough investors, they disappear with the funds, leaving the investors with worthless NFTs.
NFT blanket moves can be difficult to detect and investors should exercise caution when investing in new or unproven NFT projects. It is important to do thorough research and due diligence before investing in any NFT project and to be aware of the signs of a potential blanket move, such as a lack of transparency or communication from the creators, exaggerated claims or promises, and sudden and unexplained changes in the project’s direction or status.
