PiCK

IPX Faces NFT Rug-Pull Allegations After CRIPCO Shuts Community

Doohyun Hwang

Summary

IPX and CRIPCO launched NFT projects including Wadeside after signing a partnership, but allegations of a rug pull emerged after they abruptly shut the community and went silent.
Wadeside and OOZ NFT prices have effectively become worthless, with promised benefits such as token rewards and offline events left unfulfilled and prices plunging about 95%%.
IPX said that, as the original owner of the character IP, it will continue to play an active role and work closely with the relevant parties so the matter is handled responsibly, while providing separate guidance to asset holders.

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IPX Draws NFT Rug-Pull Allegations

Issuing Partner Vanishes After Shutting Community

‘Broken Promises’ as Prices Plunge 95%

Wadeside, a profile-picture NFT launched by IPX using its Wade intellectual property. Photo: IPX

IPX, the digital intellectual property entertainment company formerly known as Line Friends, is facing allegations of an NFT rug pull. The controversy erupted after CRIPCO, its NFT issuance partner, abruptly shut investor community channels and then went silent. Suspicion has grown that the companies effectively abandoned the business and left investors stranded after a project cited as the migration destination denied any ties to CRIPCO.

Line Friends changed its name to IPX in 2022 and announced its entry into the NFT business, signing an agreement with NFT platform CRIPCO. CRIPCO subsequently took on what was effectively the lead role in IPX’s NFT business. IPX also participated in CRIPCO DAO, the decision-making body for CRIPCO’s operations, underscoring the close ties between the two sides.

IPX then launched a series of digital assets through CRIPCO using its characters, including Wade and OOZ. Wade in particular drew attention after IPX said it had partnered with G-Dragon’s fashion label PeaceMinusOne and was preparing a collaboration.

But Bloomingbit reported that the companies unilaterally shut their official Discord channel on May 29, a key communication channel for NFT investors, and have not responded to investor questions since.

Before deleting the channel, they announced that the existing community would be integrated into the Creditcoin blockchain infrastructure ecosystem. But Oh Tae-rim, chief executive officer of Gluwa, the developer behind Creditcoin, said his company had no connection to CRIPCO. That fueled investor complaints that they had fallen victim to a classic rug pull.

A considerable amount of time has passed since launch, yet most of the benefits originally promised have gone unfulfilled. For the flagship Wadeside project, token rewards based on holdings and holding periods, along with exclusive merchandise and offline events, were promised. Bloomingbit found that little to none of that had been carried out. The outcome contrasts with the heavy marketing push at launch, which leaned on the company’s credibility.

One investor said they bought the NFT based on Line Friends’ brand recognition and the promised rewards. “Failing to keep those promises was bad enough, but shutting down the communication channel and going silent is outright fraud,” the investor said.

Another investor said the only items delivered so far were a single T-shirt and a useless picture book. The person added that prices had fallen so far from the purchase level that selling was no longer realistic.

The NFTs’ value has meanwhile collapsed. The current floor price for Wadeside, the lowest listed price, has fallen about 95% from its auction sale price of 0.34 ETH, worth about $1,090 at the time, to about 0.0295 ETH, or roughly $58. OOZ has also dropped from about 0.033 ETH in 2024 to 0.0008 ETH now, leaving it effectively worthless.

Some investors have also alleged that CRIPCO was a paper company hastily set up solely for IPX’s NFT business. Bloomingbit reported that CRIPCO’s registered business address matches that of Atos Singapore Consulting, a firm that helps establish Singapore entities. The fact that CRIPCO was established just three months before entering into its partnership with IPX has added to those suspicions. On Blind, an anonymous workplace community in South Korea, posts described as internal disclosures also alleged that Line Friends had already abandoned its NFT business and that CRIPCO was nothing more than a Singapore paper company.

In response, IPX told Bloomingbit that, as the original owner of the character IP, it would continue to play an active role and work closely with the relevant parties so the matter could be handled responsibly. The company said it would provide separate guidance to asset holders at a later date. IPX added that CRIPCO is a separate company conducting NFT-related business using IPX’s intellectual property.