As a reminder, the concept of frontrunning exists not only in cryptocurrencies, but also in traditional finance. It means opening a trade in a certain asset before any major transaction is made with it, which will affect the value of the asset in the short term.

In the case of a large purchase, a user will be interested in going long, that is, betting on an asset's rising value. Conversely, if a large sell is approaching, the trader should short. Frontrunning is an illegal and punishable practice.


However, in blockchain, any transactions are transparent, so they can be seen in advance. In fact, that is what frontrunners do. They scan so-called memes for unconfirmed large transactions and then open positions for the prospect of earning on the possible movement of an asset’s price. The trick here is to get the transaction ahead of a significant transaction, that is, to outperform it. This actually explains the name of the practice.

Ledger Nano S Plus Genesis Edition hardware wallet

In the eyes of newcomers, front-end bots are something of a source of unlimited earnings. And while such bots do exist, scammers can take advantage of the reputation of such programs to achieve their own goals – sometimes illicit ones.

How cryptocurrencies are stolen

CertiK analysts have found that 84 per cent of YouTube videos that mention frontrunner bots are fraudulent. Meanwhile, in 2021, only 21 such videos could be found on the video hosting, but this year the number has already increased to 168, Cointelegraph reports.

The number of scam videos

Here’s a quote from a recent analyst report on the subject.

All such videos have common themes: free bot code and huge profits. Successful frontrunners won’t give away free code on social media: they’ll sell it for big bucks on underground forums.

Examples of scam videos

Comments on scam videos are also scammed by bots – you can find a huge number of similar responses from mass-created accounts. Here are examples of such.

Bot comments under scam videos

Instead of a real bot – for free or money – the victim receives a malicious code that withdraws all funds from her cryptocurrency wallet after trying to “get ahead” of another identical transaction. In other words, scammers can get a double benefit: both for the sale and for the stolen coins.

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The topic with fraud in the crypto industry has gradually receded into the background, as now the main fraudster in the eyes of many is Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. Even Soo-ju and Kyle Davies, founders of another bankrupt company, Three Arrows Capital, have publicly criticised Sam.

Soo Joo and Kyle Davies

Meanwhile, Zhu and Davies have much bigger problems. According to Decrypt’s sources, neither they nor their Singapore legal team are co-operating on requests for documents relating to the liquidation of their firm. The High Court of the Republic of Singapore ordered Three Arrows Capital and its co-founders to submit affidavits describing their relationship with the company.

The court formally recognised the winding-up order filed in the British Virgin Islands. This means that the court-appointed liquidator, represented by Teneo, can request the Singapore financial records of the company and its co-founders. It is for this reason that the information contained in these depositions may be of critical importance to the liquidators as they work to find funds and work out how to settle the claims of creditors.


We believe that this situation confirms the high popularity of the cryptocurrency industry among fraudsters, which offers a wide range of opportunities for them. Still, the niche is full of complex topics that are quite difficult to deal with. That's why scammers can continue to take advantage of newcomers' limited information and make money from it. The only additional protection here is to suggest hardware wallets that require physical confirmation of each transaction. This will help to gain extra time before a potential scam occurs.


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