Surge in Crypto Rugpull Losses: Analyzing Q1 2025 Trends

Crypto rugpull losses skyrocketed to nearly $6 billion in Q1 2025, a 6,499% rise from last year. This increase is largely due to the Mantra incident, while overall incidents have decreased by 66%. Gherghelas highlights irregular transaction patterns indicative of potential fraudulent activity.

In the first quarter of 2025, crypto rugpull scams have escalated dramatically, inflicting losses nearing $6 billion. This figure marks an astounding increase of 6,499% compared to the $90 million lost during the same timeframe in 2024, as reported by DappRadar.

According to DappRadar’s blockchain analyst, Sara Gherghelas, a significant portion of these losses, approximately 92%, is attributed to a single incident referred to as the Mantra case, which has been characterised as one of the largest scams in recent years.

Despite the rise in total losses, the occurrence of rugpull incidents has diminished. In 2025, only seven cases have been reported, a notable decrease from the 21 incidents recorded in early 2024, equating to a 66% reduction despite the surge in financial damage.

The Mantra Network serves as a cautionary example. Gherghelas pointed out that the platform reached a maximum of just 64 Unique Active Wallets in December 2024, with daily interactions fluctuating between 1 and 11, and several days experiencing no activity at all, casting doubt on its growth claims.

Additional transaction data indicated that there were days with as many as 66 transactions recorded, yet on other occasions, activity would drop to zero. Such erratic patterns raise suspicions of manipulated engagement—a common tactic among decentralised applications (dapps) to create a façade of activity.