Rug Pull Recovery
Recover Funds Lost to a DeFi Rug Pull
Invested in a DeFi project, new token, or liquidity pool that suddenly drained or disappeared? Rug pulls are the most common type of DeFi fraud. While recovery is more complex than other scam types, on-chain forensics can identify developer wallets, exchange touchpoints, and legal recovery pathways.
Act quickly — speed improves recovery odds
What Is a Cryptocurrency Rug Pull?
A rug pull occurs when the developers of a DeFi project, NFT collection, or new token deliberately drain the liquidity pool or exploit their admin privileges to transfer investor funds to their own wallets — then abandon the project. Rug pulls range from small token launches to multi-million dollar DeFi protocols. Because everything happens on-chain, the developer's actions and wallet addresses are permanently recorded and traceable.
Warning Signs
How to Recognise a Rug Pull
These scams follow recognisable patterns. Knowing the warning signs can prevent further loss — and confirms that what happened to you was not your fault.
- Anonymous development team with no verifiable identities
- Liquidity pool not locked — developers can withdraw at any time
- Excessive developer token allocation (more than 10-15% of supply)
- No audit from a reputable third-party security firm
- Contract code contains admin functions allowing balance changes
- Unrealistic APY or return promises
- Heavy social media promotion with paid influencers
- Token price chart shows sharp rise followed by sudden collapse to near zero
What to Do Now
Your Immediate Next Steps
If you have been victimised, follow these steps in order. Every hour matters for recovery probability.
Screenshot the project website, contract address, your transaction hashes, and wallet balances before and after.
Some rug pull projects re-launch under a new name to target the same victims again. Avoid any further interaction.
Report to the SEC (US), FCA (UK), or your national regulator if the project made securities-like promises.
Provide contract addresses and transaction hashes — we begin on-chain forensics from these starting points.
Our Recovery Approach
How We Recover Rug Pull Funds
Rug pulls leave a complete on-chain evidence trail. Developer wallets, exchange deposits, and fund flows are all traceable.
Smart Contract Analysis
We analyse the project's smart contracts to document the exploit mechanism, malicious function calls, and the developer's on-chain actions.
Developer Wallet Tracing
Developer wallets involved in rug pulls often connect to exchange accounts via other transactions. We follow every thread to identify exchange touchpoints.
Legal Recovery Channels
Where exchange touchpoints are identified, we prepare forensic documentation for freeze requests and, where appropriate, civil or criminal legal proceedings.
Rug Pull Recovery FAQ
Common Questions
Recovery is more challenging for rug pulls than scam types like romance fraud, but it is not always impossible. If the developer wallets can be traced to regulated exchanges, freeze requests are viable. In some cases, identifying the developers through their on-chain activity enables civil or criminal legal proceedings. We assess every rug pull case individually and give you an honest probability estimate.
A soft rug is when developers gradually sell their token allocation, causing the price to decline — technically possible to do legally but often done deceptively. A hard rug is when developers drain the liquidity pool or use an exploit to directly steal investor funds. Hard rugs are clearly illegal and are the primary focus of our rug pull recovery work.
Yes, significantly. An open-source contract allows our team to analyse exactly what functions were called, what permissions the developers retained, and how the exploit was executed — all of which strengthens the forensic case file for exchange cooperation and legal proceedings.
Some rug pulls maintain a façade of activity after draining funds to delay victim reporting. If the token value has collapsed to near zero, withdrawals are blocked, or liquidity has been drained, it qualifies as a rug pull regardless of whether the social media accounts are still posting. We assess the on-chain evidence, not the project's marketing.
Yes. We handle both individual and group rug pull cases. In group cases, pooling forensic resources often produces better documentation and improves legal recovery prospects. Contact us to discuss the structure of a multi-victim case.
Start Your Free Rug Pull Recovery Assessment
No upfront fees. No obligation. Honest assessment within 24 hours.