Cryptocurrency Trader’s $10,000 Plummets to $5 Instantly Due to Unsuccessful Token Exchange

Several participants within the crypto trading space and the NFT community have reaped the rewards from the expansive Pudgy Penguins airdrop. Nevertheless, a particular digital asset trader experienced significant losses amidst a botched swap that was marred by insufficient liquidity issues.

This individual sought to leverage the buzz surrounding the crypto airdrop by transferring 45 Wrapped Solana (WSOL) tokens—equivalent to about $10,300—via the Jupiter decentralized exchange. The goal was to purchase the newly minted PENGU tokens.

As per the records on the blockchain, this transaction endeavored immediately following the PENGU token airdrop. The aim was to quickly buy in, hoping to benefit from the rush of sales post-airdrop.

During this effort, the decentralized exchange Jupiter directed the order to a non-official Raydium liquidity pool designated for PENGU. Due to exacerbatingly scarce liquidity within this pool, the trade resulted in a drastic overpricing of the tokens, theoretically inflating the meme coin’s valuation to a whopping $14 trillion.

On the open, more liquid market, the price of these tokens barely crossed $5.

According to a piece by The Block highlighting the situation, Jupiter DEX had cautioned its users through social platforms about high-risk sham contracts even before revealing PENGU’s contract address. The investor did purchase genuine tokens, but unfortunately at a rate vastly inflated by the pool’s lean liquidity.

Curiously, after this setback, the trader succeeded in acquiring an additional 62,000 PENGU tokens via subsequent transactions, even in light of the substantial prior financial hit.

In contrast to this mishap, there were success stories; for instance, one trader capitalized significantly during the same PENGU airdrop. It is documented that this individual turned a bold $5 million wager into a $13.7 million payout, making an impressive $8.36 million profit.

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