Verify a decision

{"actor":"system:backfill","investigation_id":"894cc992-ada8-4820-a09a-c83d9cf1d6f7","kind":"publish","page_slug":"aqua","published_at":"2026-05-19T01:06:43.004Z","sequence_num":1,"snapshot":{"content_type":"investigation","entity_name":"Aqua","sections":[{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[]}],"sources_used":[],"summary":"Aqua (also known as AquaBot) was a Solana-based Telegram trading bot that conducted a presale in September 2025, raising approximately 21,770 SOL ($4.65 million) from retail investors before executing an apparent exit scam. On-chain investigator ZachXBT flagged the project after presale funds were split into four tranches, routed through intermediary wallets, and sent to instant exchanges hours before the scheduled token generation event. The project had secured endorsements from multiple established Solana ecosystem participants — including Meteora, Helius, Dialect, SYMMIO — and had received a near-perfect audit score from QuillAudits just days before the alleged rug pull.","timeline":[{"date":"2025-08-12","event":"Aqua trading bot launches on Telegram as a Solana-native trading infrastructure product.","source":"","source_url":"https://solanafloor.com/news/aqua-bot-leverages-promotion-ecosystem-partners-rug-4m-presale"},{"date":"2025-08-31","event":"QuillAudits publicly congratulates Aqua team for achieving a 99.7% security audit score.","source":"","source_url":"https://cryptoslate.com/solana-trading-bot-aqua-allegedly-rug-pulls-4-65-million-after-major-ecosystem-endorsements/"},{"date":"2025-09-03","event":"Aqua posts its last active update on X (@Aquabot_io); project was reportedly active on social media building presale hype.","source":"","source_url":"https://cryptobriefing.com/aquabot-rug-pull-22k-sol-presale/"},{"date":"2025-09-08","event":"Aqua presale concludes; 21,770 SOL (~$4.65M) is held in presale wallet 4Ea23VxEGAgfbtauQZz11aKNtzHJwb84ppsg3Cz14u6q. Funds are split into four tranches and routed through intermediary wallets to instant exchanges. An additional ~$77K is allegedly manipulated from Meteora liquidity pools. The team disables replies on all X posts.","source":"","source_url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/news/solana-project-aquabot-vanishes-4-221301862.html"},{"date":"2025-09-08","event":"ZachXBT flags Aqua on his Telegram investigations channel, publishing on-chain evidence of the fund movement and noting similarities to prior fraudulent launches.","source":"","source_url":"https://cryptobriefing.com/aquabot-rug-pull-22k-sol-presale/"},{"date":"2025-09-09","event":"Multiple crypto news outlets report the alleged rug pull. Meteora co-lead Soju states the team will tighten internal vetting processes. Dialect founder Chris Osborn expresses regret for supporting the project. Ethos Network CEO confirms Aqua had briefly been in contact before going silent.","source":"","source_url":"https://cryptoslate.com/solana-trading-bot-aqua-allegedly-rug-pulls-4-65-million-after-major-ecosystem-endorsements/"},{"date":"2025-09-09","event":"Aqua team publishes a new smart contract address, citing Medium suspension as reason for lack of public explanation. No investor restitution announced.","source":"","source_url":"https://cryptoslate.com/solana-trading-bot-aqua-allegedly-rug-pulls-4-65-million-after-major-ecosystem-endorsements/"}]},"v":1}