Onchain analytics platform Bubblemaps has published an investigation into @0xEthan, a crypto influencer active on pump.fun. It alleges a repeatable pattern: buy first, promote second, sell almost immediately.
Bubblemaps estimates the activity produced roughly $125,000 in total profits across 49 token callouts. For the roughly 88,000 people who follow the account, that number may land a little differently than the original posts did.
What Bubblemaps says it found
The investigation, released on October 9, 2026, looked at 49 specific tokens that @0xEthan promoted to his audience. According to Bubblemaps, wallets associated with the influencer bought each token shortly before it was publicly promoted.
The selling reportedly started fast. Bubblemaps found that the linked wallets typically began unloading tokens about three minutes after a promotion went live.
Bubblemaps says the selling often happened while @0xEthan was still talking up the tokens’ upside to followers.
Bubblemaps characterized the pattern of pre-call buys followed by rapid selling as an “extraction scheme.” The firm also described the activity as ongoing, rather than a closed chapter.
Breaking down the estimated $125,000
The headline figure comes from two separate income streams, according to Bubblemaps’ calculations.
About $45,000 is estimated to have come from trading profits. That is the money allegedly made by buying tokens ahead of the callouts and selling into the buying pressure that followed.
The larger slice, roughly $80,000, is attributed to callout rewards. That means most of the estimated haul came not from trading, but from the act of promoting tokens itself.
The investigation did not start in a vacuum. Bubblemaps credited a tip from a user, @bandosei, as the starting point for digging into the account.
Media outlets picked up the findings between October 9 and 11, 2026, spreading the allegations well beyond the original thread.
Why this pattern keeps showing up
In crypto trading, this behavior is often called front-running a callout. An influencer, or someone close to them, buys a token before telling an audience about it. Followers then pile in, pushing the price up, and the early buyer sells into that demand.
Platforms like pump.fun make this mechanic especially visible. Tokens launch quickly, attention moves fast, and a single post from an account with a large following can move prices on thinly traded assets.
What this means for traders and influencers
Bubblemaps’ findings also highlight how transparent blockchains can work against the people trying to profit quietly. Every purchase and sale leaves a trail, and firms like Bubblemaps specialize in connecting those trails to real accounts. A tip from one user was enough to set the process in motion.
For retail traders, the practical lesson is about timing. If a promoted token’s linked wallets are selling within three minutes of a post, anyone buying on the callout may be arriving after the profitable part of the trade has already happened.
Callout rewards made up the bulk of the estimated profit here, which shows how lucrative promotion alone can be.
Disclosure: This article was edited by John Chen. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
