NEIRO, the new "Dog King": Pump-and-dump scheme using mixers to acquire 70% of tokens, KOLs collectively shilling to create FOMO
TechFlow Selected TechFlow Selected
NEIRO, the new "Dog King": Pump-and-dump scheme using mixers to acquire 70% of tokens, KOLs collectively shilling to create FOMO
Nobody cares about rat trading—pumping the market is what really matters?
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Frank, PANews
The scam tactics behind MEME coins are evolving, and a new bundled insider trading scheme is becoming increasingly common.
On July 31, Bubblemaps exposed that $NEIRO, a token launched on Ethereum, contained massive internal pre-allocations—approximately 78% of the supply was distributed in advance and subsequently transferred to over 400 wallet addresses. Despite the exposure, NEIRO's price continued rising amid intense FOMO sentiment, surpassing a market cap of $170 million. Based on an August 1 valuation of $170 million, the insider-held portion would be worth around $130 million, making it arguably the largest insider stash ever seen in a MEME coin.
Bulk Purchases of 70% Supply via Mixer
NEIRO is named after a rescue dog adopted by the owner of Kabosu—the late Shiba Inu internet sensation who inspired Dogecoin. After the name was revealed, it quickly became a new viral meme, prompting multiple NEIRO tokens to launch simultaneously across blockchains like Ethereum and Solana. As of August 1, the Ethereum-based NEIRO has emerged as the apparent "dog king," reaching a market cap of $160 million. However, this high valuation masks a heavily manipulated launch and an insider-controlled supply exceeding 70%.
PANews analyzed the suspected insider addresses of the NEIRO token and found that while these wallets appeared unrelated on the surface, tracing their funding sources revealed that all initial capital originated from a mixer address labeled "Cointool." The funds were deposited at exactly 22:13 UTC on July 27, with each transfer amounting to approximately 0.05 ETH.
Then, at 22:30 UTC on July 27—less than one minute after NEIRO’s launch—all these addresses simultaneously purchased about $100 worth of NEIRO (the exact number of tokens varied slightly due to real-time price fluctuations). This wave of small, rapid transactions propelled NEIRO to the top of Ethereum’s new token rankings almost instantly. Soon after, sniper bots and market-making arbitrage robots joined in, effectively shielding the insider activity.
Further investigation by PANews into the Cointool mixing platform revealed that it offers features such as bulk wallet generation, mass transfers, and automated batch purchases. Developers can easily use these tools to simulate dozens of independent buyers executing trades simultaneously. For example, the address 0x525F78D35De309f0f53311C5A69370597AC86A26 spent roughly $100 to buy 9.997 million NEIRO tokens, now worth approximately $1.5 million—a return of about 14,925x. The tokens were later split into two separate transfers. As of August 1, most of these wallets still held their NEIRO holdings, possibly to avoid drawing attention (holding just 0.5% of the supply already represents nearly $750,000). Additionally, the operator has not yet sent ETH to these sub-wallets to cover gas fees for selling.
Support from Japanese-speaking KOLs
Using mixers to conceal insider wallets isn’t only useful for hiding ownership—it also allows project teams to exaggerate decentralization in marketing. On social media, the official NEIRO Twitter account proudly announced: “Our good girl $NEIRO has surpassed 500 holders, with trading volume nearing $4 million, now trending on @DEXToolsApp.”
However, achieving a $160 million market cap involves more than just mixer tricks. Beyond the insider allocations, NEIRO received significant backing from numerous KOLs, particularly those using Japanese.
With promotional support from influential figures such as @apipiro22, @mikky_8080, @yukimaru_potty, @BrotherMKT, @KookCapitalLLC, and @OfficialTravlad—each boasting tens or hundreds of thousands of followers—NEIRO’s price surged and successfully listed on exchanges including MEXC, XT, Poloniex, and LBank.
Interestingly, after Bubblemaps exposed the insider allocations, several of these supporting KOLs appeared in the comments section defending the team and claiming that centralized control was actually a bullish signal.
Insider Allocations Ignored—Pump Is What Matters?
In reality, NEIRO’s price remained largely unaffected after the insider allocation was exposed, continuing its upward trajectory from a $70 million market cap to $170 million. According to the latest data from Bubblemaps, insiders still hold approximately 66% of the supply, valued at over $100 million.
Image source: Bubblemaps
The team’s total initial investment was approximately $10,000, yielding returns exceeding 10,000x.
However, with the addresses now public, offloading the insider holdings has become a challenge. Operators are gradually distributing tokens to more wallets or transferring them to centralized exchanges to slowly dump. It remains unclear how much value will remain in NEIRO once this 66% stake is eventually sold off.
Moreover, NEIRO’s bundled insider scheme is no longer unique. On July 24, blogger @plonkbot noted that nearly half of the tokens issued on Solana’s Pump.fun exhibit similar bundling behavior. PANews’ observations confirm that Pump.fun’s trading activity is now dominated by bots. Opening any newly launched token reveals heavy bot participation, making MEME coins an increasingly hostile environment for ordinary retail investors lacking access to sophisticated bot tools.
Join TechFlow official community to stay tuned
Telegram:https://t.me/TechFlowDaily
X (Twitter):https://x.com/TechFlowPost
X (Twitter) EN:https://x.com/BlockFlow_News
PANews
