With the rapid development of Web3.0, more and more users are beginning to enter this field and invest. Among them, in the field of on-chain investment, meme coin has become the most popular and attractive investment target for users. Meme coin has the characteristics of fast issuance, high fluctuation range, and anonymity of issuers. However, a large number of fraud gangs have taken advantage of users' enthusiasm for meme coins, and carried out a large number of fraud activities targeting users on the chain under the guise of meme coins. These criminals use the characteristics of smart contracts to design various risky tokens, trick users into investing, and then make illegal profits by triggering code backdoors. These risky tokens usually have the following characteristics: the contract creator has the authority to issue unlimited additional tokens, users can only buy but not sell, malicious black and white list settings, and transaction taxes can be maliciously tampered with. Once users purchase these tokens, they are likely to suffer irreversible financial losses. In order to cope with the increasingly serious risk of fraud, it is particularly important to identify and warn of risky tokens. Based on the GoPlus Security API and real on-chain data, this article will analyze the risky tokens on five popular Ethereum layer-2 networks (Base, Arbitrum, Optimism, Blast, and Mantle) in the past three quarters, in order to provide reference and warnings for users.
Data Sources
GoPlus Security API
GoPlus Security API is an open, permission-free Web3.0 security data API service provided by the GoPlus team for Web3.0 developers and end users. This service provides professional developers in the technology field with the ability to protect their users and meet the security needs of C-end users.
The transaction data on each chain is mainly counted and queried through DUNE
Analytical method
Based on the GoPlus Security API, we scanned a total of 564,180 potentially risky tokens on the 5 Top L2 Chains (users called through products that integrated the GoPlus Security API).
We analyzed and visualized the suspected risky tokens based on DUNE and created an open source dashboard showing three data indicators:
the number of unique traders involved in suspected risky tokens
the transaction amount involved in suspected risky tokens
all suspected risky tokens contract addresses
The sample period of the data in this article is within the past three quarters. Specifically, it is from August 1, 2023 to May 24, 2024. Since the Blast chain was launched in March 2024, its sample period starts from March 2024, but some ERC20 tokens on its chain were issued in February 2024.
Overall, the rapid growth in the number of addresses involved in risky tokens in various Layer-2 Ethereum networks has made the investment environment increasingly hostile for users. The data clearly shows that as the popularity of these networks increases, the risk of encountering scams also increases, especially scams related to Meme tokens. This trend is evident in all analyzed networks. As the entire field continues to develop, we all need to remain vigilant and actively guard against these threats. As an open, permissionless and user-driven Web3 modular user security layer, GoPlus Network provides users with protection throughout the transaction life cycle. Using a decentralized user security network and advanced AI-driven security solutions, it can provide in-depth risk analysis and provide users with intelligent and efficient security services. If users encounter any security issues, GoPlus will do its best to help solve them.
