Blockchain analytics firm Bubblemaps has launched a sharp attack on crypto “influencer” trading practices, alleging that prominent market commentators are using hidden wallets and coordinated token schemes to profit at the expense of their followers. The firm is urging launchpads and trading platforms to audit top traders, unmask connected wallets and ban repeat offenders — and says it will soon name a major KOL it claims has quietly extracted millions from his audience. Why this matters - Social trading promised transparency by letting users mirror prominent traders’ public wallets. Bubblemaps says that promise is being undermined: influencers can attract copy traders with visible wallets while secretly selling from other addresses, and they can also earn affiliate and callout rewards that further incentivize opaque behavior. - The firm highlights how launchpads’ incentive systems (affiliate payments, callout rewards and leaderboards) reward volume and visibility but often fail to detect linked wallets, masked token holdings or coordinated purchases. “Side wallets have become a business model,” Bubblemaps wrote. What Bubblemaps found (summary of investigations) - Common pattern: a public wallet makes visible buys to attract copiers; multiple “side” or hidden wallets buy as well; the influencer posts a paid recommendation; the public/connected wallets then sell, often minutes — sometimes seconds — after the callout. Bubblemaps says sales typically began within about three minutes of a callout in some cases, with some selling occurring even as supportive posts continued. The company frames its figures as analysis and estimates. - Ethan / Pump.fun promotions: Bubblemaps reviewed 49 token promotions tied to an influencer called Ethan and estimated roughly $125,000 in related takings — about $45,000 from trading profits and $80,000 from promotional rewards. The pattern described: a public-wallet purchase accompanied by buys from three alleged side wallets, a recommendation, and then selling. - Anglio: An analysis of 534 recommendations from the first half of October identified five wallets linked to the influencer. Bubblemaps claims those wallets bought before roughly 61% of his callouts (about 20 seconds on average) and then sold minutes later. Estimated earnings were about $130,000 (roughly 40% from trading, 60% from callout rewards). Bubblemaps says Anglio acknowledged using the methods described. - Solstice: This case focused on token ownership discrepancies between public results and activity in allegedly connected wallets. Solstice had reached No. 3 on FOMO’s leaderboard, with a STONK position showing $5 million in gains. Bubblemaps alleges dozens of newly created wallets each bought 0.5–1% of token supply at similar times, and that transaction paths used thousands of intermediary addresses. The public wallet appeared to show a $70,000 loss on the examined tokens, while the bundled, allegedly connected wallets showed $270,000 in gains. - Kimchi / TRUMP and KIMCHI token promotions: After circulating claims that a trader named Kimchi had earned $40 million trading TRUMP, Bubblemaps said it traced a public giveaway wallet to other addresses and estimated TRUMP profits of about $6 million, warning that the larger, unverified figure was being used for marketing. Separately, an AI-generated image on Kimchi’s account reportedly contained a QR code directing users to a newly created Pump.fun token that briefly reached a market cap near $14 million before collapsing more than 95%. A repost of that promotion by Pump.fun co-founder Alon was later deleted. Bubblemaps’ proposed fixes - The firm calls on launchpads and platforms to actively audit top traders, map and disclose their connected wallets, and ban users who repeatedly hide holdings or sell into their audiences. It argues platforms should prioritize detecting concealed supply and coordinated wallets over raw trading volume. What’s next - Bubblemaps said one of crypto’s largest KOLs has been “secretly extracting millions” and promised to expose that person soon, though it has not yet named the subject of that investigation. The firm’s findings follow a string of similar probes into influencer behavior and raise renewed questions about whether social trading is delivering the transparency it promised or simply creating new vectors for market abuse. Takeaway Bubblemaps’ analyses — which the firm describes as estimates — spotlight a persistent problem at the intersection of influencer marketing and on-chain trading incentives. If the claims hold, they suggest that ecosystems built around copying high-profile traders need stronger safeguards to prevent leaders from monetizing followers via hidden wallets and coordinated token mechanics. Read more AI-generated news on: https://app.chaingpt.org/news