South Korea Cracks Down on Decentralized Exchange Scams with CATFI Arrests

South Korean authorities have made a significant move against cryptocurrency scams by arresting and charging a group behind a rug pull on the Solana-based memecoin CATFI. The group allegedly used aggressive promotion and wash trading to create a false sense of demand for the token.

The suspects are accused of pocketing around $260,000 in illicit profits after 256 investors lost approximately $650,000 in total. This case marks South Korea's first major criminal case focused on a decentralized exchange (DEX) scam rather than a centralized one.