Crypto wallets associated with Ross Ulbricht lost around $12 million due to a trading error with the ROSS memecoin.
Error Situation
On January 30, Arkham Intelligence reported that Ulbricht or a person handling his wallets inadvertently lowered the price of the ROSS memecoin while attempting to offer liquidity on the Raydium DEX. A misstep in setting the liquidity pool led to the tokens being taken by an MEV bot and sold into an existing pool. The mistake occurred again, resulting in another $10.5 million loss.
Impact on Price
The MEV bot capitalized on the mispriced tokens, selling them for over $600,000. This led to a 90% plunge in the ROSS price as the mispriced tokens flooded the market.
Consequences for Ulbricht
Despite losing 40% of the total token supply, Arkham revealed that Ulbricht's wallets still hold 10% of the total ROSS supply. All wallets are registered for donations via FreeRoss.org, a campaign supported by Ulbricht's family for his release from prison. Ulbricht was sentenced to double life sentences after the closure of Silk Road in 2013.
Errors in handling crypto assets can lead to significant losses, underscoring the importance of precision in asset management on exchanges.
