An Examination of the Cryptocurrency Pump and Dump Ecosystem

35 Pages Posted: 3 Jan 2019 Last revised: 9 Jan 2021

See all articles by JT Hamrick

JT Hamrick

University of Tulsa - Tandy School of Computer Science

Farhang Rouhi

University of New Mexico - Computer Science Department

Arghya Mukherjee

University of Tulsa - Tandy School of Computer Science

Amir Feder

Technion-Israel Institute of Technology

Neil Gandal

Berglas School of Economics, Tel Aviv University; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

Tyler Moore

University of Tulsa - Tandy School of Computer Science

Marie Vasek

University College London - Department of Computer Science

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: November 25, 2019

Abstract

The surge of interest in cryptocurrencies has been accompanied by a proliferation of fraud. This paper examines pump and dump schemes. The recent explosion of nearly 2,000 cryptocurrencies in an unregulated environment has expanded the scope for abuse. We quantify the scope of cryptocurrency pump and dump schemes on Discord and Telegram, two popular group-messaging platforms. We joined all relevant Telegram and Discord groups/channels and identified thousands of different pumps. Our findings provide the first measure of the scope of such pumps and empirically document important properties of this ecosystem.

Suggested Citation

Hamrick, JT and Rouhi, Farhang and Mukherjee, Arghya and Feder, Amir and Gandal, Neil and Moore, Tyler and Vasek, Marie, An Examination of the Cryptocurrency Pump and Dump Ecosystem (November 25, 2019). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3303365 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3303365

JT Hamrick

University of Tulsa - Tandy School of Computer Science ( email )

E 5th Pl
Tulsa, OK 74104
United States

Farhang Rouhi

University of New Mexico - Computer Science Department ( email )

MSC01 1130
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131
United States

Arghya Mukherjee

University of Tulsa - Tandy School of Computer Science ( email )

E 5th Pl
Tulsa, OK 74104
United States

Amir Feder

Technion-Israel Institute of Technology ( email )

Technion City
Haifa 32000, Haifa 32000
Israel

Neil Gandal (Contact Author)

Berglas School of Economics, Tel Aviv University ( email )

Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv 69978
Israel
+972 3 640 9907 (Phone)
+972 3 640 9908 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.neilgandal.com/

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

Tyler Moore

University of Tulsa - Tandy School of Computer Science ( email )

800 S Tucker Drive
Tulsa, OK 74104
United States

Marie Vasek

University College London - Department of Computer Science ( email )

United Kingdom

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