The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) has issued a warning, advising that it is not associated with any crypto token ventures and or stablecoins on any public blockchains.
The ECCB said it is aware of a stablecoin venture on the Solana blockchain fraudulently utilising the Bank’s official logo in its online promotions.
“This representation is false and the ECCB is working with the relevant authorities to stop fraudulent misuse of its name and branding,” a Central Bank release stated.
The release noted that the ECCB concluded its central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot, DCash, in January 2024.
However, it explained that while preliminary work is underway to implement a commercial deployment styled DCash 2.0, the ECCB does not currently operate a digital currency or stablecoin in any market.
DCash updates are available on the ECCB website and the DCash website.
The ECCB has advised persons to be diligent and undertake careful research before participating in online crypto token ventures, often used as vehicles for ‘rug pull’ and ‘pump and dump’ scams, leaving unsuspecting users with heavy losses and worthless coins.
The Bank explained that a rug pull occurs when creators or promoters of a crypto token venture cause the value of a crypto token to dramatically and artificially increase in a short period, thereby attracting new participants, before selling all of their holdings of the token and causing the value of the tokens to fall drastically.
On the other hand, a pump and dump similarly may be coordinated by various holders of a low-value crypto token to attract new participants to purchase the crypto token, artificially and quickly inflating its value before selling all of their holdings of the token, causing the value of the tokens to plummet.
The ECCB stated that individuals left holding the crypto tokens face significant losses with limited means of redress or recovery in both scenarios.
“If in doubt, please report any suspicious activity or seek clarification via email message to: [email protected].“ The Bank advised.
