There has been a 66% year-on-year decrease in the number of crypto rug pulls this year compared to 2024

Rug pulls have dropped in frequency year-over-year, with early 2024 recording 21 separate incidents, compared to only seven so far in 2025

There has been a 66% year-on-year decrease in the number of crypto rug pulls this year compared to 2024, but recent data shows the size of each rug pull has been increasing.

According to an April 16 report by blockchain analytics platform DappRadar, rug pulls have dropped in frequency year-over-year, with early 2024 recording 21 separate incidents, compared to only seven so far in 2025.

However, since the beginning of 2025, the Web3 ecosystem has lost nearly $6 billion to rug pulls, the report says. However, the report attributes 92% of that to Mantra's OM token collapse, which the founders have strongly denied was a rug pull.

In comparison, during the same period in early 2024, three months into the year, total losses from rug pulls hit $90 million.

“This shift suggests that rug pulls are becoming less frequent, but far more devastating when they do occur,” DappRadar analyst Sara Gherghelas said.

Memecoins main culprit for rug pulls

Gherghelas says the nature of rug pulls is evolving. In the first quarter of 2024, most originated in DeFi protocols, NFT projects, and memecoins. In the same time frame for 2025, most rug pulls occurred in memecoins.

One of the more recent high-profile cases of a rug pull was with Libertad project's native Solana token, Libra (LIBRA), which saw its price rally to a market capitalization of $4.56 billion on Feb. 14 after Argentina's president, Javier Milei, posted a photo of the project's T-shirt in support of the project. The token then fell by over 94% after he deleted the post, prompting accusations of a pump-and-dump scheme.

"As the industry matures, so do the tactics used by bad actors. But the tools available to users are also getting stronger," Gherghelas said.

"While rug pulls may never be fully eradicated, their impact can be drastically reduced when users are equipped with the right information."

At the same time, projects with unverified smart contracts, limited GitHub activity, or anonymous developer teams or DApps that spike overnight can also be a red flag.

"This shift suggests that rug pulls are becoming less frequent, but far more devastating when they do occur. As the industry matures, so do the tactics used by bad actors. But the tools available to users are also getting stronger. While rug pulls may never be fully eradicated, their impact can be drastically reduced when users are equipped with the atomic token on Monday, April 15.