Asset management and research firm Zeus Capital LLP has published a report accusing the popular crypto asset chainlink of being a pump and dump scheme. 

In a tweet published July 31, Zeus doubled down on its claim that LINK is a “Russian pump-and-dump fraud” that is serving to make the coin’s co-founders rich. The tweet highlighted an earlier report published by the research firm titled “The Chainlink Fraud Exposed.”

According to Zeus, chainlink and its founders have exaggerated the number of partnerships formed with the coin, including “technology giants, such as Google, Oracle, and T-Systems.” The report called LINK a “theoretical intermediary” that has gained popularity by being casually linked to larger companies showcasing blockchain products.

Zeus says the infrastructure supporting Chainlink is overhyped and instead relies upon its supporters “loudly announcing” and exaggerating the eagerness of companies to do business with LINK. 

The report reads, 

There is abundant evidence of market manipulation with traits of classic “pump and dump” techniques such as trading on inside information, front-running the general public, unsubstantiated claims of progress, artificial transactions to imitate adoption, bogus partnerships announcements – and any other trick in the book to drive up the price prior to dumping LINK onto innocent investors.

Zeus accused the project’s co-founders of contributing to a downward spiral in price by selling LINK at a discount to over-the-counter institutions. The report also raised concerns over Chainlink’s lack of decentralization and potential classification as a security by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

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