As the crypto world booms with Bitcoin’s (BTC) price reaching six figures, the surface remains chaotic and often murky. While blockchain offers unprecedented transparency, it’s not easy for non-degens to simply check a blockchain explorer and analyze the ins and outs of a transaction. This results in concerned retail investors worrying about exploitations and other Web3 shenanigans.
Recent history offers numerous examples validating these concerns. It is no secret that celebrity-backed crypto projects that fail to deliver on their promises of legitimacy have often become a major problem, leading to market manipulation.
Throughout 2024, headlines have been dominated by reports of memecoin projects launched with public figures, only to quickly fizzle out after reaching their peak. Reports highlight cases where insider activity and large undisclosed holdings have siphoned millions of dollars from retail investors.
Numerous high-profile public figures have endorsed crypto projects that ultimately collapsed
Key opinion leaders (KOLs), venture capitalists (VCs) and launchpads introducing new tokens also capitalize on this lack of transparency, further disadvantaging average investors. In one recent example, suspected insider wallets made $20 million during the launch of Solana’s Focai memecoin.
Influencers face big fines for shilling memecoin scams, but the problem extends beyond celebrity hype. In particular, the complexities of tokenomics make it challenging for the average investor to understand potential risks like rug pulls, where developers disappear with investors’ funds.
On dynamic platforms like Pump.fun, where new projects quickly raise funds, inexperienced users can fall victim to anonymous developers’ promises of high returns. Overcoming these issues requires robust tools to simplify blockchain complexities for everyday users.
Bringing clarity to a decentralized world
Bubblemaps, a crypto analytics tool, addresses blockchain analysis challenges by transforming complex data into visually engaging and easily digestible insights. By enabling users to identify misleading supply strategies and uncover hidden dynamics within token ecosystems, the platform brings much-needed transparency to the blockchain space.
Through visualization tools, Bubblemaps illuminates the complex connections and relationships between wallet holders, clarifying even the most complex blockchain interactions. As transactions and tokenomics simplify, everyone from casual investors to seasoned blockchain analysts can perform data analysis with ease.
Bubblemaps leverages onchain raw data to create powerful visualizations. Source: Bubblemaps
At its core, Bubblemaps offers two features. The first, Bubblemaps v2, creates dynamic visual maps of tokenholder networks, with each bubble representing a holder. The connections between these bubbles display interactions. Users can easily identify key players — such as insiders, VCs or team members — and gain a comprehensive view of a token’s ecosystem.
The second feature, The Intel Desk, is a governance system for onchain investigations powered by the BMT token. Users can vote on which investigations should be prioritized, ensuring that decisions are both transparent and community-driven.
Four cases that define blockchain transparency
Bubblemaps’ ability to visualize and analyze onchain activity underscores the importance of transparency in blockchain. By uncovering hidden dynamics such as insider trading, fraud and centralized influence, the platform provides users with a powerful tool for navigating the murky waters of crypto.
To illustrate its impact, here are four compelling use cases where Bubblemaps uncovered suspicious transactions:
1. Insider activity on NEIRO
A closer look at the NEIRO token on Ethereum alludes to insider activity, according to Bubblemaps, who found that 78% of the token’s supply was captured at launch and distributed among 80 wallets.
$NEIRO on ETH (@neiro_ethereum) is heavily controlled ⚠️
— Bubblemaps (@bubblemaps) July 30, 2024
78% of the supply was sniped at launch and spread out among many wallets.
Insiders already made $4.5M and still own 66% 🧵 ↓ pic.twitter.com/dEwiuE3Gu2
Bubblemaps manually reconstructed the transaction map and discovered that alleged insiders gradually sold assets through 400 intermediary wallets to obscure their profits.
2. Sahil Arora’s rise
Bubblemaps investigated the activities of Sahil Arora, a notorious blockchain figure who made $5 million in 2024 by issuing tokens for celebrities — most of which eventually crashed to zero.
1/ An investigation into Sahil, featuring unseen footage, who made $30M in 2024 by launching tokens for celebrities—most of which dumped to zero
— Bubblemaps (@bubblemaps) August 14, 2024
↓ 🧵 pic.twitter.com/iSo1kFTSdO
Arora typically controlled 25–40% of the supply for each token and strategically used more than 40 identified wallets to disperse and off-ramp funds. Bubblemaps reported that Arora routed $5 million through exchanges.
3. Celebrities fuel DADDY token frenzy
Bubblemaps has also noticed significant insider activity in the DADDY token, which Andrew Tate promoted. Prior to Tate’s promotional efforts, alleged insider wallets acquired 30% of the supply and currently hold over $45 million in assets.
1/ We found huge insider activity on $DADDY 🚨
— Bubblemaps (@bubblemaps) June 12, 2024
Insiders bought 30% of the supply at launch, before Andrew Tate (@Cobratate) started to promote it on X, and are currently sitting on $45M+
A thread 🧵 ↓ pic.twitter.com/UyB4SpAs9Z
According to Bubblemaps, Tate still controls 40% of the supply (worth $64 million), raising further concerns about market stability.
4. Uniswap governance under a16z’s influence
Bubblemaps has also revealed Andreessen Horowitz’s (a16z) significant influence over Uniswap governance, challenging the idea of decentralization.
You’re being lied to about the governance of UNI@a16z could control 41.5M UNI through 11 wallets, which represents more than 4% of the supply
— Bubblemaps (@bubblemaps) February 5, 2023
4% is the required amount to pass any proposal 🧵↓ https://t.co/mVdTukYstD pic.twitter.com/u7l9kBFIWF
The platform discovered that the VC firm controls 41.5 million UNI through a network of 11 wallets, representing over 4% of the total supply — enough to pass any governance proposal.
A transparent future for blockchain
Bubblemaps aims to cement itself as an industry standard for token research and understanding tokenomics. Its investigations have garnered widespread attention, shedding light on issues like fraudulent schemes at Ape Terminal and the celebrity memecoin trend on Solana.
With over 1 million monthly visits and integrations into major platforms such as Pump.fun, Etherscan, Photon, DEX Screener and DexTools, Bubblemaps have become an indispensable part of the crypto culture. The term “bubble map” has evolved into a widely used concept synonymous with blockchain analysis and clarity.
Decentralized finance (DeFi) is on a meteoric rise as users increasingly turn away from centralized exchanges, embracing purely onchain alternatives. Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) are seeing record trading volumes, sparking a surge in demand for innovative tools like Bubblemaps, Arkham and Kaito. These tools are rapidly transforming how blockchain data is analyzed and utilized. As the industry grows, the focus on transparency and innovation will be vital in achieving blockchain’s vision of decentralization, fairness and trust.
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