Ronaldinho Launches Shady Cryptocurrency with concerning smart contract rules and “vulnerabilities”.

This time, Brazilian soccer legend Ronaldinho launched his STAR10 token on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC), with high fanfare and bold promises of exclusive perks

Brazilian soccer legend Ronaldinho has launched his STAR10 token on Binance Smart Chain (BSC), garnering interest for its varied perks and concerning smart contract rules.

Ronaldinho announced his new project, an AI-powered token, on X, teasing exclusive perks such as signed collectibles, VIP experiences in private events and even access to an AI agent.

“Get ready to unlock a world of possibilities with $STAR10 and the metaverse,” said Gaúcho.

STAR10’s price skyrocketed upon launch, reaching an all-time high of US$0.3855 (AU$0.62) and pushing its market cap beyond US$360M (AU$579M). The project also has a roadmap of at least three phases, and apparently we’re on phase one. Interestingly, the second phase unlocks “the power of AI, Web3, and real-world rewards for $STAR10 holders”, whatever that means.

Now, let’s get to the part that matters. It seems an individual closely tied to Ronaldinho reportedly made nearly US$5M (AU$8.04) in profit from the token.

According to blockchain platform Onchain Lens, the trader first acquired 20.79M STAR10 tokens for 48 BNB, valued at US$29K (AU$46K), later selling a small portion while holding the remainder, which is now valued at about US$4.9M (AU$7.8M).

An insider on @10Ronaldinho has made a profit of $4.94M.This insider spent 48 $BNB ($29,247) to buy 20.79M $STAR10.So far, the insider has sold 119,278 $STAR10 for 54 $BNB ($33,106). The insider still holds 20.68M $STAR10, valued at $4.93M.Address:… pic.twitter.com/0h6BnxYLfz

The trader’s actions sparked a discussion on a Telegram group dedicated to STAR10, with members expressing surprise at the significant gains made through small investments.

Moreover, another wallet linked to insider activity acquired 122.45M tokens, 12.24% of the total supply, for 80 BNB, which is around US$50K (AU$80.5K), and then sold one million tokens within minutes for 433 BNB, at US$270K (AU$434K) leaving its remaining holdings valued at approximately US$33.5M (AU$53M), Lookonchain reported.

In addition to these trading irregularities, the firm GoPlus highlighted several security concerns after checking the project’s smart contracts, which already have too many vulnerabilities. More specifically, the token’s owner could burn tokens from any holder’s wallet.

A subsequent developer update confirmed that the vulnerability had been addressed, somewhat alleviating the immediate concerns. However, it is not enough in an industry where celebrities have rugged users before with memecoin launches.