Blockchain researcher ZachXBT has disclosed compelling evidence implicating four prominent online traders in a PAAL AI pump-and-dump scheme that potentially reached 2.67 million followers. These traders; TraderNJ, PetaByte, XO and Trader SZ allegedly manipulated the market for personal gain. The price of altcoin PAAL AI rose from $0.017 to an all-time high of $0.0451 within weeks. Leaked messages indicate a closely collaborating network of influencers. So ZachXBT, known for exposing crypto scams, continues its mission to bring transparency to the industry. Here are the details…
Altcoin project was purchased before the promotion
On September 11, ZachXBT, in a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), claimed that TraderNJ, PetaByte, ZachXBT posted a diagram on social media showing various transactions between crypto wallets, focusing specifically on the PAAL AI project. He also explains that shortly after receiving the altcoin from the project, Trader SZ began promoting the token on social media:
Trader SZ received 4 million PAAL from his team on August 10 and started ‘shilling’ a few days later. Shortly after that it started dumping.
PAAL AI price had increased
The price of PAAL AI rose from $0.017 on August 10 to reach an all-time high of $0.0451 by September 3. The allegations emerged through the publication of various Telegram texts and voice messages. A message allegedly from Petabyte appeared in the group chat. “Many of these men are our personal friends,” the message said. “I can be sure that they will be willing to get on board once we tell them,” the statement said. He also pointed out that their combined followers will reach 2.67 million organic followers. ZachXBT has earned a reputation for boldly exposing fraudulent projects and scams in the crypto industry.
However, this caused him to face legal difficulties. On June 17, it was revealed that Jeffrey Huang, known as MachiBigBrother on Twitter, had filed a lawsuit against ZachXBT over a research paper he wrote in 2022. ZachXBT stated that the lawsuit was “baseless and an attempt to stifle freedom of expression.” Anonymous Blockchain researcher vows to challenge legal action. However, he asked for help from the community to cover the costs involved. In just a few hours, it raised over $600,000 in donations. Important names such as Binance CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao and Kraken founder Jesse Powell are also among the leading supporters. Both ZachXBT and Huang announced on their social media accounts on August 15 that Huang had withdrawn the lawsuit.