Swarms Grows by 5000%, but Scam Concerns Persist: Why?

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Olga Primakova

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Olga Primakova

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Olga started writing about cryptocurrency and finance in 2021.

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Elena Bozhkova

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Elena Bozhkova

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Elena is the Features Lead at Cryptonews.com. With a Master's degree in science journalism from City University, London, she is passionate about exploring complex topics in the world of technology.

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Last updated: 

January 8, 2025

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Key Takeaways:

• Despite a 5000% price surge and Binance listing, the project’s quick rise has led to suspicions of insider trading and skepticism about its credibility.
• Kye Gomez, tied to Swarms and Apac.AI, faces claims of copied code, raising doubts about both projects.
• Swarms reached $101 million in trading volume on DEXs, surpassing competitors like AI16Z.

The price of Swarms (SWARMS) jumped from $0.01 to $0.60 in just two weeks, growing by about 4964%. Despite this, some call the project a scam.

Swarms is a new token launched on the Solana (SOL) blockchain at the end of December. It focuses on AI agents, a hot topic in the crypto world. On 7 Jan., Binance added SWARMS for futures trading. On the same day, the token hit its all-time high (ATH) of $0.60.

However, the price started rising sharply even before Binance’s announcement, leading some to suspect insider trading.

While AI agents like Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL) or ai16z (AI16Z) are widely discussed, Swarms is still a relatively unknown project. However, it has already been listed for futures trading on Binance, and whale activity has been observed.

In this article, we will explore what Swarms is and why some people are skeptical about the project.

The Swarms Developer Who Steals Others’ Work

A year ago, a Reddit user discovered a GitHub repository with a high star count, indicating significant popularity or interest in the code. Upon attempting to run the code, the user encountered multiple bugs and found the project to be incomplete.

The repository was linked to Kye Gomez, a developer currently associated with Swarms.

Kye Gomez maintains several repositories with high star counts across various projects. However, users have reported that his code is often non-functional. Some speculate that Gomez has been copying the work of other developers.

One Reddit user specifically claimed that Gomez copied code from their friend.

Reddit users have also raised concerns about Gomez’s other project, Apac.AI. Commenters have suggested that his posts and claims resemble tactics used to mislead investors or extract free work. One user commented:

‘It reads like an MLM or a cult trying to trick gullible people into giving free work/money. Or a really scammy startup looking for dumb investors.‘

Apac.AI has set an ambitious goal of achieving $100 trillion in cash flow by 2029. However, given the buggy and incomplete code in its repositories, the project has attracted suspicion of being a potential scam. Both Apac.AI and Swarms operate in the AI sector, further fueling skepticism about their credibility.

What Is Known About Swarms?

Although Swarms launched its token in December 2024, its first post on X appeared on 30 Apr. A few days later, the project announced partnerships with Google Cloud and Baron Weather. Despite this, Swarms failed to gain significant attention at the time.

The project published its roadmap only on 4 Jan., just days before being listed on Binance. The roadmap outlines five phases, but no specific implementation dates are provided.

Swarms describes itself as “the agentic economy,” aiming to create infrastructure for AI agents with its native token as the core component. The whitepaper explains:

‘Just as the internet required protocols to enable seamless information exchange, the agentic economy demands a universal financial system to facilitate trustless, autonomous transactions between agents, swarms, and their human collaborators.‘

Despite concerns about the project, Lookonchain observed significant activity from large traders. One whale purchased $3.39 million worth of SWARMS, while another bought $3.58 million.

Another trader, however, lost $2.14 million worth of SWARMS after Binance announced futures trading, retaining $10 million worth of tokens.

This whale activity drove trading volumes on decentralized exchanges (DEXs). According to GeckoTerminal, WARMS became the top token by trading volume at $101 million, surpassing even AI16Z.

Is Swarms Legit or Scam?

The project still seems “incomplete,” as its roadmap does not include specific timelines. Its unique value proposition remains unclear, especially given the competition from platforms like Virtual Protocols, a major player in launching AI agents.

Additionally, neither Swarms nor its developer, Kye Gomez, have addressed allegations regarding stolen code.

Despite these concerns, some whales purchased significant amounts of SWARMS before the Binance futures trading announcement, fueling speculation of insider trading.