Unchained Ep. 895: How Crypto Insiders Are Sidestepping the Law to Dump on Retail
Release Date: September 3, 2025
Host: Laura Shin
Guest: Nick Viman (CEO & Co-founder, Bubble Maps)
Episode Overview
In this episode, Laura Shin interviews Nick Viman of Bubble Maps about uncovering how crypto industry insiders, sometimes amid international legal scrutiny, systematically front-run and manipulate meme coin launches for enormous profits—leaving retail investors with heavy losses. The discussion dives into notable cases, the mechanics of sniping and insider trading in crypto, failures of regulation, and Bubble Maps’ efforts to bring more transparency to on-chain activity.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Presidential Meme Coins & Hayden Davis' Methods
[02:10 – 08:49]
- Tokenization Craze: From celebrity coins to "Presidential coins"—notably Donald Trump and Melania Trump meme coins.
- Trump Coin: Launched with some transparency, tokenomics matched on-chain data. However, one worrisome wallet held 80% of the supply.
- Melania Coin: Sloppy launch, rushed site, and on-chain distribution not matching public claims. Bubble Maps traced connections to Hayden Davis (aka Kelsier Avengers).
- Davis’ Role: Used multiple wallets to snipe Melania’s token and profit.
- Libra Coin (Javier Milei, Argentina President): Davis went public as the creator, confirming initial investigations.
“We were even hesitant to share this online, given the gravity… Imagine this, if we were wrong, we would throw someone under the bus and under a huge bus of the first lady of the United States.”
– Nick Viman, [06:30]
2. Insider Trading & Sophisticated ‘Sniping’
[08:49 – 18:26]
- On-chain Insider Tactics: Insiders exploit privileged info—contract addresses, launch timing, tweet schedules—to “snipe” launches before general traders.
- Other Coins: Davis also associated (through other wallets) with meme coins like Fries and Hood, further blurring legal and moral boundaries.
- Public Confession: In an interview with Coffeezilla, Davis admitted to using insider info for sniping major token launches.
“Very rarely in the history of crypto you have someone sitting and just saying everything out loud, everything that is happening behind the scenes.”
– Nick Viman, [12:55]
- Example: Kanye West’s ‘YZY’ Token: Planted 50 fake contract addresses pre-launch to thwart snipers, but Davis still picked the right one and profited ~$12M.
“Is he Kanye West? I don’t know.”
– Laura Shin, [16:22]
- Advanced Snipers vs. Insiders: Some snipers rely on ruthless algorithms and on-chain signals, but deep insiders always have a massive edge.
3. Exploiting Liquidity & Legal Lapses
[22:12 – 28:04]
- Libra Sell-Off: Massive supply unlocked, team used "one-sided LPs" to absorb buy pressure without visual sell orders, fooling many traders.
- Legal Outcomes: $57M frozen by Circle, later unfrozen by a judge due to lack of clear legal grounds. Continues the theme: “Crime is legal” due to jurisdictional ambiguity and the speed of the industry.
“That’s actually a very lucrative business because if you manage to onboard a president, you’re going to make 100 million. And it’s not a crime.”
– Nick Viman, [27:25]
4. Retail Investors as Exit Liquidity
[28:51 – 32:35]
- Devastating Stats: In YZY token (Kanye coin) launch:
- Over 70,000 participants.
- 60,000+ lost money.
“The window opportunity to make money on this token is so short now, it’s literally if you don’t invest within the first 10 minutes of the token, you’re down only.”
– Nick Viman, [29:19]
- Meme Coin Attention Economy: Tokens spike at launch with celebrity attention, then inevitably bleed out as there’s no enduring utility. Only early insiders and a handful of snipers win.
5. Sniper Networks and Collusion
[32:54 – 37:39]
- Nassim the Sniper: Made $100M on Trump token via $1M investment, bribed the blockchain with $70,000 in gas fees to be first in line.
- Sniper Coordination: Rather than competing, top snipers pool resources to maximize profits and minimize competition, exacerbating damage to retail.
“The issue with this is that in any market, a monopoly is considered bad… That’s exactly what is happening with the snipers.”
– Nick Viman, [35:36]
6. Celebrity Tokenizer Sahil Arora
[38:29 – 41:17]
- ‘Crypto Villain’: Approaches celebrities via DMs, offers huge sums for a tweet promoting a contract address—then uses their community as exit liquidity.
- Pattern: He holds 60–70% of supply, dumps post-promotion.
- High-profile Cases: Involving major names like Jason Derulo, Bass, Jesse Pollock, Jacob Horne of Zora, and possibly Tyson Fury.
“Despite the fact that everybody’s talking about him… he keeps scoring new names every single time and new trophies. How is he doing this? I don’t know.”
– Nick Viman, [41:06]
7. Systemic Regulatory Failure & Community Solutions
[41:17 – 46:55]
- Government Lag: Law enforcement can’t keep up due to slow processes and international complexities.
- Community Response: Bubble Maps plans to launch “Intel Desk”—a platform to aggregate and retain memory of on-chain incidents, akin to a “Wikipedia of on-chain incidents.”
- Decentralized Vigilance: Encourages sharing findings and creating lasting records to counter collective amnesia in crypto.
“If there is a solution to this mess, we need to fix it as a crypto community… No one is coming to save us.”
– Nick Viman, [44:15]
8. Justin Sun’s Huge WLF Pre-Sale Profits
[47:32 – 50:07]
- Justin Sun: Invested $75M in World Liberty Financial’s pre-sale (20% of presale pool), catching a 10x gain and netting about $750M when WLF hit a $25B FDV.
- Vesting Uncertainty: The vesting schedule for the remaining 80% is undetermined—unusual for such a large-scale token launch.
9. Bubble Maps: Origins and Mission
[50:26 – 56:50]
- Nick’s Backstory: Entered in 2017 bull run, first large loss on speculative tokens and Ripple. Founded Bubble Maps to make on-chain analytics accessible and visual.
- Product Differentiation: Focus on clarity, accessibility (integrated into major platforms), and soon, decentralizing investigations via their BMT token.
- Token Use Case: BMT will reward investigative contributions and help coordinate decentralized research efforts.
“People say, ‘Let’s check the bubble map of a token,’ like a concept, not a brand… That’s the best compliment you could say to a founder.”
– Nick Viman, [52:56]
10. Closing Advice & Memorable Quotes
[57:11 – 57:58]
- Investor Warning: Always check the bubble map for concentration—if a cluster has >20% of supply, be wary. Share bubble maps in token chat groups: “If they ban you, that’s your answer.”
“Before investing into a token, always check the bubble map. We have a saying, we say just bubble it.”
– Nick Viman, [57:12]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
“It got to the point where… a judge decided to froze out of this 100 million, 57 million related to the Libra case. They were frozen by Circle. And then… the judge… decided to unfreeze these funds.”
— Nick Viman, [26:50] -
“The playbook is simple. Infiltrate big launches, get in early and extract millions. It’s happening in plain sight and no one is stopping it.”
— Laura Shin, [41:45] -
“I’ve become very convinced that governments and law enforcement is not going to help because they’re too slow… This industry is just going so fast…”
— Nick Viman, [43:03]
Important Timestamps
- [02:10] – Breakdown of Trump and Melania meme coin launches
- [07:31] – Hayden Davis confesses about Libra
- [13:44] – Davis’ charisma and tactics
- [16:19] – YZY token: 50 contract addresses and sniping
- [22:27] – Libra token, 80% supply, and one-sided LPs
- [28:51] – YZY launch stats: retail loses
- [32:54] – Nassim the sniper and $100M Trump trade
- [38:29] – Sahil Arora’s playbook
- [41:17] – The cycle of scams and failures of accountability
- [47:32] – Justin Sun’s World Liberty Financial presale profits
- [50:26] – Bubble Maps’ origin and mission
- [57:12] – Closing advice: "Just bubble it"
Summary Takeaway
Crypto’s meme coin ecosystem is now ruled by a small club of deeply connected, sophisticated actors who consistently outmaneuver retail by exploiting privileged information, manipulating on-chain launches, and shifting regulatory sands. Tools like Bubble Maps help expose these tactics, but until law enforcement catches up, only community vigilance and transparency initiatives offer hope for leveling the playing field.
Final Note:
Always, always check the on-chain distribution—“just bubble it”—before you buy. If a project’s insiders or early buyers are quiet (or ban you for asking questions), it’s a red flag.