IPX, a NAVER affiliate formerly known as Line Friends, whose past self-issued coin and non-fungible token (NFT) projects failed to show clear results, is now facing controversy after its NFT issuance partner Cripco suddenly went dark. Some investors are also raising suspicions of a rug pull (a scam in which developers or insiders abruptly halt a project or drain funds).
According to the virtual asset industry on the 11th, Cripco announced on its official X (formerly Twitter) on the 29th that it would shut down its official Discord channel used to communicate with NFT investors. After the communication channel was suddenly deleted, investors voiced anxiety. Just before deleting the community, Cripco said it would integrate the existing community into the "Creditcoin" Blockchain infrastructure ecosystem, but Gluwa, the developer of Creditcoin, said Cripco's claim was groundless.
After Cripco disappeared, IPX's NFT prices plunged. According to the virtual asset market platform CoinGecko, as of the afternoon of the 10th, the WADESIDE NFT price fell to 0.06 ETH (about 150,000 won), down about 83% from 0.34 ETH, which was about 1.5 million won at the time of sale. OOZ NFT crashed from 0.033 ETH (about 85,000 won) in 2024 to 0.001 ETH (about 2,500 won) now.
IPX began in 2011 as sticker characters for the mobile messenger LINE and is now a NAVER affiliate that has become an independent digital intellectual property rights (IP) entertainment platform corporations. IPX changed its name from Line Friends in Mar. 2022.
IPX's main business involves collaborating with famous K-pop artists such as NewJeans and various global brands to plan and commercialize character IP. Building on its IP, it also entered the NFT business, signing an agreement with Cripco in June 2022, three months after the name change. Cripco's role was to handle IPX's NFT business. Cripco was established in Mar. 2022, when IPX changed its name.
Through Cripco, IPX successively launched NFTs such as its own characters WADESIDE and OOZ. WADESIDE is an Ethereum-based profile picture (PFP) NFT project, and over about a year after launch, a total of 13,333 units (about 1 billion won) were distributed to the virtual asset market.
IPX and Cripco's revenue structure consisted of ▲ NFT issuance and distribution ▲ membership sales ▲ secondary transaction fees. When NFTs issued on the Cripco platform were resold by users, a portion of the transaction fees generated was taken as a platform fee.
NFT investors believe IPX is also linked to the rug pull suspicions surrounding Cripco. Some investors suspect Cripco is a paper company (a shell corporations) created for IPX's NFT business. In response, IPX said Cripco was a separate company that carried out the NFT business.
Amid the partner's disappearance, past virtual asset businesses run by IPX are being revisited on X and elsewhere. Representative IPX projects include virtual assets such as ▲ LN (LineLink) ▲ IP3 (Cripco) ▲ ZTX (Zepeto) ▲ STIX (StarKully), and ▲ DOSI NFT ▲ Goodgang Labs NFT, but all are now effectively defunct.
An IPX official said, "As the original owner of the character IP, IPX will work closely with relevant parties to actively ensure this matter proceeds responsibly. Guidance for existing Cripco asset holders will be provided separately at a later date." Cripco did not reply to an email asking about the reason for closing its official channels and its future plans.