Crypto Pump and Dump Trends 2023: How to Avoid It?

TLDR

Cryptocurrency pump-and-dump trends are becoming more and more frequent in the crypto world. Con artists who perpetrate these schemes employ phony, false information skewed, or exaggerated claims to rapidly push up the price of a coin or token, then quickly cash out their holdings to benefit at the expense of unsuspecting victims.

Though pump-and-dump schemes are illegal in the stock market, crypto market regulations are still developing. Cryptocurrency investors can help protect themselves and others from these fraudulent schemes by doing their due diligence.

Pump-and-dump scams have become more prevalent in recent years. Chainalysis research found that they accounted for 37% of cryptocurrency scam revenue in 2021, up from 1% in 2020. These scams took in over $2.8 billion of crypto during the year. 

Where do they organize these scams?

The scams usually involve pump-and-dump groups on Telegram or Discord with thousands of members. On the day of a pump, the group starts mass-buying a specific coin, sending trading volume and its price soaring in minutes. “Dump” follows immediately as the organizers sell their holdings and flee with the profits.

The most liquid cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, is generally considered too difficult to pump. However, other coins—such as Dogecoin (DOGE), a crypto coin that has no intrinsic value but is well-known—are easier to manipulate, especially when the market for the unknown coins is hot.

Social media plays a significant role in these schemes. Fraudsters frequently spread false or misleading information through Twitter, Reddit, and TikTok. Pump-and-dumps are also facilitated on group messaging apps like Telegram and Discord.

The group leaders profit from the pump-and-dump trend

The pump and dump scheme mainly has groups’ organizers get significant returns. When a group has gained enough members, it will, in practice, have the market power to influence the course of a cryptocurrency. This is, of course, valuable for those running the business.

The group leaders start pointing out so-called altcoins, alternative cryptocurrencies often wholly worthless. A time is set for when to start pumping money into the currency, which will drive the price up. After this, it is up to the individual investor to fend for himself. No time will be given for the dumping, i.e., when you should sell.

Inside these pump-and-dump groups, things move quickly. It’s a matter of seconds. If you invite enough members, you access the new cryptocurrency a few seconds before everyone else. If not, you must start buying when it is announced in the group chat, considerably weakening the possibility of a reasonable profit.

So, how do group leaders make so much money?

This occurs primarily in two ways:

1. First and foremost, the organizers choose which altcoin the next pump-and-dump trends will apply to. This means they can buy well with the coin long before it is made public to the other group members.
2. Secondly, it is common to have different types of membership to the groups, where you pay for access to the information earlier than everyone else gets it. Then it will be the investors who gamble. At the same time, the group leaders will make money from the memberships and early investment.

The potential profit in pump-and-dump schemes

For those who organize pump-and-dump, vast amounts of money can be made. However, what are the chances for the average investor, who only has the leaders’ announcements to go by? In short, there could be a better potential return on pump-and-dump.

Compared to regular stocks, pump-and-dump with cryptocurrency offers many new investors the opportunity for significant profits. If you manage to get in and sell at the right time, you will likely see a 20% and 50% return. However, if you look at the long-term return potential of cryptocurrency in general, these could be better odds.

Let us take Ethereum as an example. Those who bought this currency in July 2017 (for around $200) could enjoy a return of over 400% in early February 2018 (when the rate, even after a considerable drop in the entire cryptocurrency market, was over $800). And in an even more long-term perspective on cryptocurrency, the explanation of the crypto market’s substantial growth lies.

Compared to the pump-and-dump strategy, there is not much to boast about. You must do this full-time job for short-term and small gains, with very high risk, or you will probably not become wealthy by pumping and dumping cryptocurrency assets.

Pump-and-Dump vs. Long-term Investment

Pump and dump is the opposite of what people who believe in blockchain technology do. These latter people think that we are entering an era where development will become an essential and genuine part of our everyday life concerning finances and the services offered in the crypto industry.

Keep in mind that cryptocurrencies are shares in a technology. When you invest in digital assets, tokens, or currency, you invest in the technology behind the coin. Then it is also logical that you should have faith in this technology to put your money into it.

This is how people get rich in the cryptocurrency markets, with long-term investments and thorough research into crypto projects. Then, the value of the technology behind the currencies increases, just like any other company shares. The only difference is the need for more regulation. However, this will likely come from less anonymity and stricter regulation for cryptocurrency trading.´

The pump-and-dump trend can be an exciting way to make some quick extra bucks. Even so, you should be aware that, in principle, it creates false value and further turbulence in the cryptocurrency market. If you want an investment with more potential for returns, stay away from all the hype and pump-and-dump groups and invest in crypto investing from a longer-term perspective.

Summary

Cryptocurrency pump-and-dump scams and fraud are increasingly prevalent, with fraudsters using various social media platforms and messaging apps to manipulate prices for their benefit.

They target alternative cryptocurrencies like Dogecoin, which are easier to manipulate than Bitcoin. Organizers of these schemes profit by choosing the target coin and getting early access to it, while average investors face high risks for potentially minimal returns.

Long-term investments in cryptocurrencies focusing on blockchain technology are considered safer and more stable than pump-and-dump schemes. As regulations develop, investors should do their due diligence to protect themselves from market manipulation.