A crypto trader transformed an initial investment of $285 into $627,000 on Monday by trading a memecoin called ZREAL, sparking renewed concerns about insider activity and the fairness of the memecoin market

Blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain revealed that the trader purchased roughly 66.3 million ZREAL tokens early and sold about 10 million for $210,000 while holding the remaining 46.3 million, resulting in an estimated $417,000 in unrealized gains

Onchain data shows that the wallets involved executed hundreds of market sell orders over a period of approximately 10 hours, behavior typically associated with memecoin "snipers" who gain early access to tokens before public launches and then profit as prices surge

Memecoin insiders often receive information about projects before public release, allowing them to use automated bots to buy tokens early and sell them quickly on exchanges once prices rise, a practice that has drawn criticism for exploiting retail investors

The practice of sniping gained widespread attention in early 2025 when Hayden Davis disclosed on a podcast with Coffezilla his involvement in issuing high-profile memecoins including MELANIA and LIBRA, admitting that such projects often target liquidity from unsuspecting buyers

Although the memecoin craze of last year has mostly subsided, a mini revival appears underway, highlighted by the ZREAL trade and record trading volumes on the Pump.fun platform, which reached $1.2 billion in daily activity earlier this month

The ZREAL token has quickly built a community of more than 7,000 members on X since its introduction on Sunday, with a 24-hour trading volume peaking at $18 million

A report by Solidus Labs in May of last year claimed that 98% of tokens issued on Pump.fun were fraudulent, a claim strongly denied by the platform, with a spokesperson stating that the report shows a lack of understanding of memecoins

The explosive gains from the ZREAL trade have reignited debate over market transparency, the ethics of memecoin sniping, and the risks faced by everyday retail traders navigating this high-stakes digital frontier