One of the most impressive launches of the year has just taken place with the $SAVM token from the SatoshiVM project. However, what should have been a major step in blockchain innovation quickly turned into a controversy centered around the questionable actions of many influencers.
The launch of the SAVM token and the controversy surrounding the project
SatoshiVM is an innovative blockchain project positioning itself as a layer 2 solution for Bitcoin. Using a versatile ZK Rollup and integrating the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), SatoshiVM offers a platform for off-chain computations while remaining compatible with the Ethereum ecosystem.
This approach allows users to interact with SatoshiVM similarly to Ethereum and enables developers to build applications on SatoshiVM just as they would on Ethereum.
SatoshiVM consists of three distinct layers: a settlement layer, a sequencing layer, and a proving layer.
A distribution of SAVM tokens that attracts attention
According to SatoshiVM’s public tokenomics, 15% of the total supply of $SAVM tokens was distributed to ‘contributors’, often identified as influencers in the crypto space. However, a thorough analysis of blockchain transactions reveals that the majority of these influencers immediately sold their tokens upon receipt.
In fact, data visualization specialist Bubblemaps unveiled the details of an impressive launch:
Millions have been made by influencers dumping their bags of Satoshi VM.
Bubblemaps was able to trace the wallet 0xe77fb, which distributed $SAVM tokens to as many as 250 influencers, totaling over 1.2 million tokens with a current value estimated at around $12 million. What is even more surprising is that nearly 50% of these tokens have already been sold on Uniswap, a popular decentralized exchange platform.
Indeed, SAVM has reached a trading volume of over $150 million on Uniswap at the time of writing this article (less than 24 hours after the launch).
The community questions the honesty of some influencers
This massive sell-off has sparked severe criticism from the crypto community, notably from renowned on-chain detective ZachXBT. ZachXBT criticized the involved influencers for promoting (‘shilling’) the $SAVM project not to support an innovative blockchain initiative, but rather to sell their investments for quick profits through their communities’ purchases.
Thor, a respected influencer in the cryptocurrency space, came under fire after selling a large amount of $SAVM tokens acquired during the project’s seed phase. Thor justified his initial investment by his interest in BTC rollup technologies and the potential of the BTCFi landscape. However, after selling his tokens at $6, making a considerable profit from one of his known addresses, his community questioned his motivations.
In response to the controversy and attacks, Thor repurchased his entire position at over $12 per token, using his public wallet to showcase transparency. He admitted that the situation could have been handled better (explaining that he should not have used a public address…) and announced a few weeks’ break.
Furthermore, Bubblemaps’ revelations about the distribution of $SAVM tokens add an extra layer of controversy. It is reported that four wallets alone hold 39% of the total supply, raising questions about centralization and market manipulation potential.
