Author: CryptoSlate
Compiled by Deep潮 TechFlow
DeepChain Summary: Just two weeks after Robinhood Chain launched, a new scam emerged: after users purchased tokens, the tokens vanished directly from their wallets, and the money spent could not be recovered—yet their private keys and other assets remained intact. This exposes the fatal risk of permissionless chain-based “buy-first, review-later” models—when warning systems can’t keep up with malicious contracts, retail investors become the test subjects.
The cross-chain trading protocol Relay claims that buyers on Robinhood Chain—Robinhood’s permissionless Ethereum Layer 2—suffered fund losses as tokens disappeared directly from their wallets immediately after purchase.
Relay highlighted this issue and stated that the funds can no longer be recovered, but did not promote these tokens or explain why they disappeared from the wallet.
According to reports, these incidents did not involve theft of wallets or private keys. Relay stated that private keys and balances in other tokens remain unaffected. Relay is blocking the affected tokens, verifying assets it considers secure, and reminding users that anyone can list tokens.
Relay attributes the loss to specific, potentially problematic token purchases on Robinhood Chain. However, it did not specify whether the transactions were conducted through Robinhood Wallet, nor did it suggest that brokerage accounts or other Robinhood products were affected.
Relay announces:
We have received reports that tokens disappear from wallets after being purchased on Robinhood Chain. There has been an increase in scam tokens specifically designed to self-remove after purchase. If you bought one of these, unfortunately, the money you spent is gone. We are blocking these tokens and verifying secure ones.
Relay has not disclosed the affected contract addresses or transaction records, so the reported losses cannot be independently verified.
Robinhood launches Wall Street Layer 2, and the market immediately crowns a $150 million memecoin.
Robinhood launched its permissionless public mainnet on July 1. The company stated it serves nearly 28 million customers across 38 countries, although this figure reflects its overall corporate reach rather than the number of on-chain users or affected buyers.
This warning was issued during the initial surge of speculative trading on Robinhood Chain. Trading volume on decentralized exchanges neared a peak of $400 million on July 7, and Pump.fun added support for Robinhood Chain tokens on July 8.
Robinhood's growing crypto bets coincide with the rapidly expanding hype around prediction markets.
Who blocks tokens before trading?
An open token creation mechanism allows developers to deploy contracts without Robinhood's approval. Third-party tokens and liquidity can form around Robinhood’s brand without requiring app listing. Relay’s warning shifts the focus from which assets attract attention to what buyers see before signing.
Relay operates an independent cross-chain bridge and swap interface supporting Robinhood Chain. Robinhood Wallet’s own support page states that its in-app swaps are routed through the 0x API and LI.FI, while the interface used by affected buyers has not yet been identified.
0x natively supports tokens unless blocked for compliance reasons, and custom ERC-20 tokens become tradable once liquidity is available on markets sourced via the API. Relay screens transactions against sanctions and risk databases and maintains an internal blocklist.
Its warning states that it is blocking affected tokens and verifying others, but does not specify whether buyers see the warning before signing or only after completing the purchase.
Singapore has added Hyperliquid to its warning list due to lack of protections offered.
Robinhood’s general scam guide covers malicious smart contracts, pump-and-dump schemes, and rug pulls, and advises users to review transaction details before signing. The page does not explain whether tokens are screened before swapping within the wallet, nor does it address tokens whose balances disappear after purchase.
The next challenge is the speed at which warnings and blocklists propagate across trading interfaces, and whether tokens removed from Relay are still available elsewhere. Relay’s post did not disclose the contract address, number of buyers, total losses, or technical reasons. Users need to understand the asset’s status before making irreversible purchases, when warnings can still alter outcomes.