Mojito Markets Abruptly Suspends Operations Due to FTX Collapse

Mojito Markets, a decentralized exchange that launched the first IDO on the Aptos ecosystem, has unexpectedly announced a suspension of its operations.

In a statement released early on December 20, Mojito Markets revealed that the collapse of FTX had significantly impacted the project in multiple ways. The majority of the project's operational funds have evaporated, and it has lost its market maker, Alameda.

Mojito Markets had considered seeking emergency funding to continue its operations. However, raising capital has proven difficult in the current unpredictable downtrend market. Given these challenges, Mojito Markets has decided to pause its operations.

The project plans to resume its multichain mission and focus on cross-chain liquidity once the industry conditions improve. To kick off this new journey, Mojito Markets intends to reissue the MOJO token on Ethereum and will announce further details in the coming days.

Mojito Markets was previously seen as a promising decentralized betting project built on the Aptos foundation and closely watched by Aptos Labs and various influencers. The platform allowed users to predict and bet on future events without intermediaries like bookmakers.

Mojito also gained attention as the first successful IDO on Aptos. The substantial airdrop from the Aptos Foundation generated significant FOMO, drawing many investors to acquire MOJO. However, when the token listed on exchanges at the end of October, the project encountered issues providing liquidity for AMMs like Pontem, leading to a delayed listing. This seemingly minor issue sparked panic selling among investors, causing the token price to plummet rapidly.

Moreover, just two hours after the MOJO listing, the project reported being targeted by a malicious actor who deployed a bot to keep the MOJO price below $0.04. Users were advised not to sell MOJO until the bot exhausted its tokens.

Shortly after, on-chain analyst The Data Nerd discovered that Mojito had transferred approximately 570,000 APT, equivalent to the entire IDO amount, to FTX. The project clarified that this action was to convert the funds into USDT for better fund management and developer compensation.

Amid these suspicious activities, the community's trust in Mojito Markets appears to have waned. As of now, MOJO is trading around $0.0019, down over 13 times from its peak.

MOJO Price Fluctuations on the Daily Chart, Screenshot from TradingView at 12:15 PM on December 20, 2022 (Vietnam Time)