Binance Investigates Alleged BOME Insider Trading as Token Slumps 20%

Binance is investigating the issue to determine potential insider trading was involved in BOME listing.

Leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced it is launching an investigation into alleged insider trading in Book of Meme (BOME), a new Solana-based memecoin.

The investigation follows a wave of online discussions that stemmed from the recent listing of the memecoin on Binance. 

What Happened?

These discussions were triggered by a Lookonchain analysis, which revealed that a significant amount of BOME was purchased shortly before the token’s actual listing on Binance.

Binance had earlier announced it would list BOME and open trading for BOME/BTC, BOME/USDT, BOME/FDUSD, and BOME/TRY spot trading pairs on March 16 at 12:30 (UTC).

However, Lookonchain monitoring revealed that a wallet had withdrawn 12,721 SOL ($2.3 million) from Binance and purchased 314 million BOME at $0.0074 before the token’s actual listing.

“Does he know something we don’t?” Lookonchain stated at the time.

BOME, which has already been rallying, skyrocketed by 300% to hit $0.027 post-listing on Binance, increasing this whale’s investments to a staggering $8 million. At the time of filing this report, the token is down to 20% in the past 24 hours.

Binance Conducts Investigation 

Following community concerns about these suspicious transactions, Binance stated that it had conducted an internal investigation, which found that the individual behind the wallet was not affiliated with the exchange.

Upon receiving information about the large BOME transaction, we immediately initiated an internal investigation, and the results showed that the user is not a member of Binance staff.

Transparency is a top priority at Binance, and our investigations team will continue to look…

— Binance Customer Support (@BinanceHelpDesk) March 18, 2024

The crypto exchange added that it will continue to look into the case “thoroughly” to discover the individual behind the transaction.

As previously promised, Binance reiterated that it currently offers reward ranging from $10,000 to $5 million to users who provide information leading to identifying individuals involved in token listing leaks and other fraudulent activities.