Did a conspiracy group behind SHAR cause a rapid drop in market value from nearly 40 million to 3 million in just 1 minute

Coin World News Report:
“Accept PVP, but never tolerate RUG.”
By Asher, Odaily Star
Last night, the Solana-based Meme project SHAR went live and its price briefly reached nearly $0.06, with a market capitalization of around $40 million. Shortly after, blockchain detective ZachXBT posted an article pointing out the involvement of a “conspiracy group” and KOL manipulation in this project. According to leaked documents, the project claimed to have 50 “first-tier” KOLs on board.


ZachXBT: Solana-based Meme project SHAR involved in conspiracy group and KOL manipulation.
Despite this news, the major Meme communities were not immediately affected by this FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt). Instead, they seemed to find the lineup of KOLs convincing enough to drive the market cap up to $50 million.
Fueled by FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), SHAR’s market cap briefly approached $60 million. However, by 2 am, the market cap plummeted by almost half to $24 million. After a surge in buying orders, the market cap rose again to $43 million. But by 5 am, it sharply dropped from $40 million to $3 million, and it currently stands at $3.5 million.


SHAR price trend.
Who caused the market cap to drop from $40 million to $3 million?
According to on-chain data, the address CHj3vHyMhF6DF3VkwhzgK833o7uvsN7CrPVyUdmbFo5E collected 500 million SHAR tokens from over 100 addresses in less than 2 minutes. This address then made a sell order, earning nearly 20,000 SOL tokens worth over $3 million. This sell order directly drained the liquidity pool of the SHAR project, causing the market cap to plummet from nearly $40 million to $3 million.
At the same time, according to Bubblemaps monitoring, 60% of SHAR tokens were collected and distributed to over 100 addresses, indicating that the SHAR project team manipulated the market price by transferring tokens between different addresses, creating the illusion of active trading to attract retail investors’ attention.


Bubblemaps data.
Some KOLs respond after being exposed by ZachXBT.
After blockchain detective ZachXBT exposed the members of the “conspiracy group” behind SHAR, some of the KOLs mentioned responded immediately:
0xSun: “I can’t believe it. I bought some SHAR tokens before going to bed, and it turned out to be a rug pull. I did collaborate with this project, but the reason I chose to collaborate was that I thought the project seemed reliable and had money-making opportunities, not just for promotional fees.”
joji: “I was never involved in this project announcement. The SHAR team added me to it without contacting me, and I asked them to remove me from it.”
Wizard Of SoHo: “Today I messaged four KOLs on the list, telling them not to promote this project because they are a scam team.”
PattyIce: “I never mentioned SHAR in my tweets.”
Some KOLs mentioned by ZachXBT in his promotion of SHAR denied being members of the “conspiracy group” behind SHAR, while others denied participating in the promotion of SHAR.
Community sentiment
The discussion about the “conspiracy group” behind Meme coins generated mixed opinions within the community:
“When I see Meme projects with sudden spikes in trading volume, regardless of whether they are created by a conspiracy group or not, I move on to the next one if I haven’t already invested. It’s better to miss out than to get trapped and curse.”
“As always, those KOLs have already issued risk warnings. So, this won’t affect their continued rise to fame.”
“I don’t FUD these types of projects. At least they can legitimately raise the token price. Even if you’re not part of a conspiracy group, there’s an opportunity to make money by getting in early, which is better than VC coins that plummet immediately after listing.”
…
Meanwhile, due to the “conspiracy address” draining the SHAR pool in a short period of time, many retail investors who bought at high prices saw their funds instantly reduced to zero. The community was filled with resentment, and some even formed a rights protection group in an attempt to seek compensation:
“Accept PVP (Player vs. Player), but never tolerate RUG (Rug Pull).”
“Although the hope of compensation is slim, I really want to go after the project team.”
“The project team, which controls the private keys, is Russian. They have lost contact with some exchanges they approached for listing.”
“While the project team promised compensation to KOLs, it’s highly unlikely. It’s also impossible for retail investors to seek compensation from KOLs. The best solution now is to communicate with CLS.”
Some community members summarized that Meme projects released by similar “conspiracy groups” have the following characteristics:
They are released in the evening or even early morning.
They generate a large trading volume in a short period, resulting in trading volume surpassing $100 million within a few hours.
They ride the current hot topics and themes in social media.
“Get rich quick” myths flood social media.
Opportunities are always there. Therefore, when it comes to Meme projects with surging trading volumes and intense social discussions, either you have already participated when nobody cared, or you invest with capital that can bear the risk when everyone is talking about it. Only then can you survive in this market.