A QUANT holder who got “rugged” after the token’s 13-year-old developer sold his holdings retaliated by allegedly kidnapping the boy’s dog and launching a meme coin called Bari QUANT named after it.

Reports of the kidnapping initially started circulating on X after several users claimed that an unidentified individual admitted to stealing the dog, demanding a “refund,” and mentioning the BARI token. 

Further, a screenshot suggested the boy’s mother confirmed in an Instagram post that the dog had been stolen.

$quant kid rugs thousands for 30kanon dms me said he stole quant kids dog $bari demanding refund what part of the cycle is this? pic.twitter.com/zA8zVKr8Wx

— zak (@sticktoshiZak) November 21, 2024

Soon after, the individual launched an X account for the Pump.fun launched BARI token, with the dog’s photo as its mascot.

X account created to promote the bari token | Source: X

Through posts on this account, the individual reiterated demands that the QUANT developer publicly apologize for the rug-pull. He claimed to have found the dog, which he used to babysit and stated that he plans to hold it hostage until the boy apologizes for the rug-pull and meets his financial demands.

“As for my demands with Bari and the goal of the project I want everyone who lost to make it back here, I demand that quant kid will buy 5k worth of Bari and make an apology video for rugging if not Bari stays with me,” one of the posts said.

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The individual also claimed to live on the same street as the 13-year-old developer and asserted a personal connection to the situation, stating he knew the boy’s cousin, who had reportedly assisted in the QUANT project.

As news of the incident circulated on X, the price of BARI surged by over 300% within three hours of its launch, according to Dex Screener data, while its market cap surpassed $800,000 before receding to over $309,000 at press time.

QUANT, however, was down over 61% in the past 24 hours, with a market cap of over $19 million. At its peak, the meme coin boasted a market cap of over $81 million.

The drama traces back to November 20, when the 13-year-old boy launched the Gen Z Quant (QUANT) token on pump.fun during a live stream. Within minutes, the token’s price skyrocketed over 260%, only to meet a sudden crash after the boy abruptly sold all his holdings, causing the price to crash. 

The move earned him $30,000 in profit but also sparked outrage among those who had bought into the token.

In a brazen follow-up, the boy deployed two other tokens with the tickers LUCY and SORRY, only to repeat the rug-pull, earning an additional $24,000, according to Lookonchain. The repeat stunts further infuriated the community, as traders accused the boy of exploiting the platform for personal gain.

Making matters worse, the boy mocked the affected investors online, eventually leading some traders to retaliate by doxxing his family, revealing personal details such as addresses and social media accounts.

Subsequently, several other Pump.fun tokens themed after the boy’s family members, along with their profile pictures have been launched. 

Read more: Pump.fun exploiter slams ‘horrible bosses,’ demands $100k payouts for non-founders