The crypto market is experiencing significant capital outflows, with certain coins seeing notable price declines that have left many investors in tough positions. One altcoin has been hit particularly hard amid rumours of closure. A famous whale who heavily invested in this token has suffered major losses.
Machi Big Brother Loses $16 Million with This Altcoin
As reported by The Bit Journal, the crypto market is struggling to recover from last week’s losses. While the leading cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, has seen a modest rebound, its gains have remained limited. Meanwhile, some tokens are witnessing sharp declines against the market trend. According to the on-chain analytics platform Lookonchain, the well-known crypto influencer and whale Machi Big Brother has suffered losses of millions of dollars.
Lookonchain reported that Machi Big Brother’s bet on the SocialFi project Friend.Tech (FRIEND) resulted in a staggering loss of $16 million. While the exact timing of the initial investment was not disclosed, it was noted that Machi Big Brother spent approximately 5,200 ETH (worth $16.7 million at the time) to acquire 11.1 million FRIEND tokens. After the ongoing sale of FRIEND tokens, on-chain data shows that the value of this investment has plummeted to $0.7 million.
This isn’t the first time the influencer has experienced significant losses with this altcoin. Earlier this year, as reported by The Bit Journal, Machi Big Brother actively purchased FRIEND tokens, spending $15.6 million by June 8 and incurring a loss of $7.9 million.
Why Did the Altcoin Price Drop?
The decline in the price of the Friend.Tech token can be attributed to a series of decisions made by the project’s team. Notably, the team decided to abandon control of the smart contracts associated with the platform, essentially signalling a potential shutdown within a year of launch. On September 8, the team transferred control of the smart contracts to an empty Ethereum (ETH) address, effectively halting any future development or bug fixes on the platform.
The platform was initially designed to allow users to buy and sell shares of social media profiles. When this article was written, FRIEND was trading at $0.063 , marking a 52% drop in a single day. On the weekly chart, the token saw an 80% decline.
Questions About FRIEND’s Sustainability
Machi Big Brother’s losses highlight the volatility of the crypto market, reinforcing the importance of conducting thorough research before investing. In the case of Friend.Tech, the decision to abandon control of the smart contracts points to centralization issues, which may have contributed to the token’s rapid decline.
Some in the market speculate that the losses may be akin to a rug-pull, especially considering the involvement of venture capitalists in the project. It remains to be seen whether FRIEND can recover with the support of its community.