nft rugpull
/ɛn.ɛf.tiː ˈrʌɡ.pʊl/
CommonAn NFT project where creators collect money from buyers, then abandon the project and disappear with the funds.
Can be deliberate fraud from the start or a project that legitimately fails and is then abandoned. The community often uses it for both, though technically a rug pull implies intentional exit.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | dev deleted the discord and twitter. classic nft rugpull. lost 2 eth | The team wiped their social presence, a common sign the exit is complete. | x, 2022 |
| 02 | floor went from 3 eth to 0.001 in two days. nft rugpull confirmed | A sudden floor price collapse is often the sign that a rug pull is in progress. | reddit, 2022 |
| 03 | every new collection looks like a potential nft rugpull now. trust issues are permanent | Past scams have made the speaker permanently skeptical of new projects. | x, 2023 |
| 04 | bro spent $800 on a roadmap that was just an nft rugpull with extra steps | The elaborate roadmap was just a way to build confidence before the exit. | reddit, 2022 |
Use it when
- An NFT team takes mint proceeds and goes silent.
- A project abandons its roadmap and the founders disappear.
- Warning others about a project that looks fraudulent before launch.
- Describing a loss from a project that turned out to be a scam.
Do not use it when
- An NFT just lost value because the market dropped.
- A project failed due to poor execution but the team is still around.Use “failed project” instead.
Variations and related forms
Origin and context
The phrase 'pull the rug out' was adapted into crypto slang during the 2020-2021 NFT and DeFi boom. The 'rug pull' became one of the defining scam patterns of that era, especially after high-profile NFT project collapses.
- First seen
- 2020
- Confidence
- medium
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/nft-rugpullUpdated: 2026-08-28License: CC BY 4.0