SatoshiVM token dips as much as 38% amid Ape Terminal controversy on X

Executives of SatoshiVM and the Ape Terminal are accusing each other of committing scams following the IDO token launch of SAVM last week.
Brayden Lindrea
Posted by Brayden Lindrea January 25, 2024 3 Mins Read
Executives of SatoshiVM and the Ape Terminal are accusing each other of committing scams following the IDO token launch of SAVM last week.

The newly launched SatoshiVM (SAVM) token plunged as much as 38% amid a war of words between one of its advisers and fundraising platform Ape Terminal over a seemingly controversial token launch last week.

The heated argument stems from a launchpad event for SatoshiVM’s new token SAVM, which began trading on Jan. 19. Ape Terminal is a decentralized exchange (DEX) fundraising platform or “launchpad” for cryptocurrency projects looking to release a new token via an Initial DEX Offering.

SatoshiVM is a contributor-based Bitcoin layer 2 solution powered by zero-knowledge rollup technology.

“MacnBTC,” who claims to be one of SatoshiVM’s advisers, has accused the platform of having “scammed” the recent SatoshiVM IDO by giving all 210,000 SAVM token allocations to its Ape Terminal's team members instead of picking from a pool of entrants.

Ape Terminal has vigorously denied the claims, instead arguing it was MacnBTC that “sniped” and profited from the token sales.

In a Jan. 24 post on X, MacnBTC initially claimed that of the 200,000 wallets that applied for the SatoshiVM IDO, only ten winners were chosen, but all of them were on the Ape Terminal team. He later reposted an analysis from “bx1,” who claims that five of the ten wallets have similar selling patterns and timings.

“On top of that they took a 25% fee that they also kept,” MacnBTC claimed. “They returned all of the $SAVM tokens to the @satoshivm team but made millions selling the winner wallets.”

However, Ape Terminal hit back, claiming it never sold fees made from SAVM and instead argued that MacnBTC was the one who harvested “millions in profits.”

“Mac owns huge amounts of unlocked SAVM, sniped liquidity, and gave tokens to his friends,” the Ape Terminal team claimed.

“After profiting $10M+ in a day from $SAVM sales, Mac needs a scape goat and chose us.”

However, MacnBTC refuted the statements, claiming that “everything is verifiable on chain” and that they will soon publish the findings. He also claims he’s been threatened with a defamation lawsuit over his recent posts.

Ape Terminal meanwhile has cited an analysis of the SAVM launch by “rug.ai” on Jan. 22 in a shared Google document, which claims the SatoshiVM team netted nearly $4.7 million.

In addition, the “snipers” — which Ape Terminal claims to be MacnBTC’s “buddies” — walked away with $15.2 million, according to rug.ai.

Rug.ai, which provides investors with an AI-based token safety analysis, scored SAVM’s launch a 46/100.

Related: Trader bribes way to $7M profit on SatoshiVM token launch

It noted that the SAVM contract still has an owner, is minitable, that liquidity remains unlocked and that the two largest holders own 31% of the supply. “These features are worth noting and could potentially be dangerous,” rug.ai concluded.

In a Jan. 25 X post, SatoshiVM said there is a lot of misinformation being spread” about the firm and the token launch of SAVM, and that they plan on open-sourcing its research paper tomorrow as part of a transparency measure.

Commenting on the recent controversy, on-chain investigator ZachXBT argued both Ape Terminal and MacnBTC are guilty of acting dishonestly to their users and followers. ZachXBT had previously warned that people "shilling" the SAVM launch could mean that they have an allocation "and will dump their cheap tokens on you."

Cointelegraph contacted Ape Terminal and SatoshiVM for additional comments but did not receive an immediate response.

The SAVM token plummeted as much as 38% to $6.28 in a short three-hour window following MacnBTC’s initial X post at 10:04 pm UTC on Jan. 24, according to CoinGecko. However, it has since rebounded to $7 at the time of publication.

SAVM’s change in price over the last 24 hours. Source: CoinGecko

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