Spreading through the Thai blockchain world is a new meme cryptocurrency ironically celebrating coup-maker and based songwriter Gen. Prayuth Chan-o-cha.
Called Lungtoo in homage to the 29th prime minister’s sobriquet “Uncle Tuu,” it may look like like just another cute shitcoin fronting Big Doge Energy, but it’s been raising eyebrows since it launched Monday.
In case it bears repeating, the kingdom is convulsing with scams, and the newly launched coin raises a number of red flags the cryptorati say should give pause to investors – even those just in it for the lulz. Seemingly timed to steal some of the joke crypto thunder after Elon Musk evangelized Dogecoins on television, the Lungtoo tokens dropped Monday with all the airs of a charitable endeavor.
It’s designed to appeal to meme-conversant digital Thai youth who oppose the military-backed government and create a false impression on Twitter that sentiment is universal. The Lungtoo website contains copious art by popular political cartoonist “Kai Maew,” altruistic assertions no tokens will be used for personal gain and promises to donate part of proceeds to Phramongkutklao and Siriraj hospitals.
But that’s where the problems begin. Contacted to confirm his involvement, the anonymous Kai Maew artist said he had none, and the site’s art was used without his permission. The site suddenly went offline today as this story was being reported.
Those behind the coin are completely anonymous, and significant portions of their “white paper,” a fancy term for what amounts to a press release, are plagiarized from other sources, such as another published four days ago for “Dogemoon.”
In fact, the websites for Dogemoons and Lungtoos appear nearly identical. Both are made possible by Binance Smart Chain, a service from crypto exchange Binance that makes it easy for anyone to launch a coin for a few hundred USD.
Lungtoo.com was just registered Monday. Whoever registered the domain name concealed their information, but the registrar, GoDaddy, indicates it was someone in Victoria, Australia. Dogemoon.me is registered by NameCheap, and its records suggest Icelandic origins.
A message sent to the Lungtoo register via domain registrar GoDaddy had not been responded to as of publication time.
Then there are the technical red flags. The founder of online community Crypto Ladies Bangkok said there were several unannounced changes made that would be invisible to most users since it launched.
Anne Somanas said that the creator’s so-called contract account, where the tokens originate, was changed this morning. As it turned out, those who bought the tokens Tuesday were buying entirely different ones today without knowing it. The change was made without disclosure or explanation.
From an investor standpoint, Anne said it could affect sales of TOO, as the currency is listed, on the market.
“We cannot tell whether the two […] are linked, and whether people who purchase TOO tokens on the new address are sending their money to the same location,” she said.
Later on Wednesday afternoon, through an announcement on Telegram, Lungtoo said it had switched accounts because the previous one didn’t comply with the regulations of some crypto exchange channels. It said token holders could swap their old tokens for the new ones starting next week.
While after-the-fact notice may placate some, Anne said the coin remains risky due to a variety of vulnerabilities in how it is set up, leaving it ripe for exploitation, and investors empty-handed.
According to the blockchain, 939 investors had acquired the original Lungtoo coins; nearly 40 had gone in on the new one as of Wednesday afternoon.
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