FatMan sounds the alarm on Ronaldinho-backed ‘World Cup Inu’ crypto token FatMan sounds the alarm on Ronaldinho-backed ‘World Cup Inu’ crypto token
World Cup Inu tokenomics raise suspicions of another rug pull, but supporters say everything is above board.
2 min read
Updated: Oct. 20, 2022 at 11:04 am UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
Investigative work by @FatManTerra revealed suspicious tokenomics for the newly released Ronaldinho-endorsed World Cup Inu token.
Ronaldinho “delighted” to join World Cup Inu family
The FIFIA World Cup in Qatar is weeks away, kicking off on Nov. 20 with the final slated for Dec. 18. The event has stirred several controversies, including allegations of corruption in the host bidding process and the inhumane treatment of workers building the event infrastructure.
To accommodate Qatar, FIFA broke with tradition and made the unprecedented move to run the event during winter, impacting the schedule of domestic football leagues. Temperatures in Qatar can reach low 40 degrees celsius during the summer months.
As expected, a swarm of world cup-themed crypto tokens has recently popped up, including FIFA Shiba Inu, Baby World Cup Inu, FifaWorldCupInu, Fifa World Cup Inu, World Cup Token, and Qatar World Cup. But perhaps most prominent, due to the backing of legendary Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho, is World Cup Inu.
The former Barcelona and AC Milan midfielder became a fan favorite based on his playmaking ability, technical skills, and flair. In March 2020, Ronaldinho was held in custody for six months in Paraguay for entering the country on a fake passport.
On Oct. 19, Ronaldinho tweeted his support for the World Cup Inu token, adding he is impressed by the project’s DeFi innovation.
I am delighted to be part of the World Cup Inu family. $WCI is changing the defi space by their work and utilities . Really excited for this project! I will be giving away 3 jerseys to them , vouching for Brazil to win the #WorldCup. Make sure you check them out 🤙 pic.twitter.com/rvF9mNCqFs
— Ronaldinho (@10Ronaldinho) October 19, 2022
World Cup Inu token called out
Price data shows World Cup Inu began trading on Sept. 27. A price peak of $0.03397452 on Oct. 17 would have netted early investors a 2,100% gain.
Since then, WCI experienced a sharp drop, with support found at $0.01440661. Meanwhile, no market cap information is available due to the lack of circulating supply data. The devs have disclosed a total supply of 1,000,000,000 tokens – a relatively low max supply.
World Cup Inu runs on the Ethereum blockchain and is available to trade on Uniswap and OpenOcean, with just 2% of its daily volume conducted via the latter.
The token is described as a Web3 betting portal enabling token holders to gamble against others on the outcome of World Cup games. In line with the gambling theme, it also features a lottery.
Having examined the tokenomics, FatMan tweeted a warning to the crypto community, recommending users “stay away” to be safe.
In particular, FatMan raised concerns with the tax function, which skims a percentage from all trades, saying devs have already removed a significant sum from the tax pool.
Legitimate projects use transaction taxes to reinvest in the project or fund development costs, and always with the community’s agreement.
CoinGecko noted the tax rate on WCI is variable, meaning the tax rate can be increased at will. FatMan also noted this, adding that the smart contract functions enable devs to pause trading.
PSA about this coin: it looks like the World Cup Inu deployer is charging a 4% swap tax on DEX trades. He has already cashed out $300K+ from WCI. There are also contract functions to unilaterally increase the swap tax and to pause trading. Please be careful; best to stay away. https://t.co/cesjw73Gwl pic.twitter.com/a0sRRSKLRN
— FatMan (@FatManTerra) October 19, 2022
Commenting on the cashed-out sum, @FanFloki said this is a legitimate expense related to marketing costs.
That’s been known to be the marketing wallet and marketing costs money. I would understand if money was being pulled and nothing was to show for it but that’s not the case. Marketing campaign has been shown. Also didn’t Do Kwon and terra rug the entire crypto market?
— $WCI Chad Chaddington (@FanFloki) October 19, 2022
CryptoSlate reached out to World Cup Inu for comment, but no response was received as of press time.
Mentioned in this article
Author 
Samuel Wan
Samuel Wan, a finance professional turned full-time crypto content creator, values individual autonomy and personal freedom in his pursuits.
Featured Story
Advertise Here
In this article
Ethereum is a decentralized, open-source blockchain platform that enables the creation of smart contracts and decentralized applications (DApps).
Bitcoin
$97,498.13
Bitcoin, a decentralized currency that defies the sway of central banks or administrators, transacts electronically, circumventing intermediaries via a peer-to-peer network.