The Economics of Deception: Structural Patterns of Rug Pull Across DeFi Blockchains
摘要
Rug pull schemes vary structurally in their methods and in how blockchains shape their economic profiles. We measure how rug pulls operate across six blockchains: Solana, Polygon, Arbitrum, Avalanche, Ethereum, and BNB Smart Chain. Each chain shows distinct execution patterns, not just in scam rate but in how capital enters and exits. Solana records the highest rug pull density (55% of all tokens flagged) and the shortest liquidity lifespans. Most pools live for less than an hour, yet 71% yield net gains for their creators. The remove-to-add liquidity ratios in Solana exceed 1.0, compared to other chains. Avalanche shows fewer scams but deeper capital engagement, averaging 227 liquidity additions per rug-pulled token. Ethereum anchors cross-chain flows but exhibits the lowest attacker profitability. Post-removal traces reveal structured use of bridges like Wormhole and Stargate. Stablecoins (USDC, USDT) dominate bridge activity, enabling fast, high-liquidity exits. Solana tokens show bridged values exceeding one quadrillion USD, signaling pricing anomalies absent in legitimate pools. We define ten observed patterns, including atomic drains, fake-volume deployments, non-interactive exits, and bridge laundering. Our analysis relies on data from thousands of tokens and pools without external labels, exposing execution-layer asymmetries shaped by liquidity management design, gas friction, and interoperability channels.