South Korea Charges CATFI Memecoin Operators in First DEX Rug Pull Case

South Korean prosecutors have charged a group accused of carrying out a major rug pull involving the Solana based memecoin CATFI, also known as Catpie. The case is being described as the country’s first prosecution linked to a decentralized exchange (DEX) rug pull under the Virtual Asset User Protection Act.

According to investigators, the main suspect, identified only by the surname Park, allegedly used the online identity “Eth Father” to promote CATFI on social media. Prosecutors claim the token was falsely marketed as an independent third-party project before investors were misled.

CATFI Price Surge and Investor Losses

Authorities say the group pushed CATFI’s value up by more than 1,000% within just 26 hours before selling holdings for nearly 400 million won ($260,000) in profit. At least 256 investors reportedly suffered combined losses of around 900 million won ($599,000).

CATFI Token Collapse Raises Memecoin Risks

After reaching an $8.99 million market value in early 2025, CATFI later crashed by 99% to roughly $57,000. Despite the sharp fall, more than 1,500 investors reportedly still hold the token, hoping for recovery.