• PLUME token dropped 12% after co-founder Eugene Shen's death was announced, with trading volume surging 145% amid investor uncertainty.
• Speculation arose about the authenticity of Shen's death, with some suspecting a potential scam, despite the wider community's mourning.
• Plume's strong backing from investors like Galaxy and Brevan Howard counters scam theories, highlighting its established presence in the RWA sector.

In a sad occurrence, Eugene Shen, co-founder of the RWA project Plume, reportedly passed away this week. However, this announcement prompted a major PLUME token dump, splitting the community with acrimonious accusations.

Some skeptics wondered if Plume was a scam or if this death announcement was some sort of hoax. Others deplored these accusations and token dumps, professing support for the company. Regardless, it has been a bizarre market reaction to an unfortunate, tragic event.

Massive PLUME Token Dumps

Plume, an RWA onboarding blockchain firm, has attracted considerable attention since YZi Labs invested in it this March. Over the last week, the company’s PLUME asset fell by 18%, and users began reporting a token dump today.

The firm announced the death of Plume co-founder Eugene Shen, presumably establishing a reason for this price action:

It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of a tragic loss within our company. Earlier this week, we lost our cofounder and dear friend, Eugene. We’re in shock. Eugene was brilliant, deeply curious, and brought so much talent and heart to everything he did. Our thoughts are…

— Plume – RWAfi Chain (@plumenetwork) May 29, 2025

Plume’s announcement didn’t specify a date or cause of Shen’s death, only that it took place last week. Still, this immediately clarified the PLUME token dump for some users, many of whom strongly condemned investors’ behavior.

Although PLUME had already been falling for several days, it experienced an additional 7.4% crash and a 145% increase in trading volume today. Presumably, Shen’s death caused today’s price actions.

However, alternate narratives also began circulating, even if they remained a minority position. Why did the price drop begin days ago?

It appears that several token holders are calling PLUME a scam token and the co-founder’s death a hoax. Yet, these claims have no evidence and show a rather unsettling display of public empathy.

Sad story:

Bought $Plume 5 months ago at $0.13 with a 2B circulating supply Didn’t sell at x2 ATH

Now it’s dipping hard after a 433M token unlock and the death of a team member—right before mainnet launch

Time to exit before they announce the death of @chriseyin or @teddyP_xyz https://t.co/qIGIqrhHch pic.twitter.com/kQcY6r7xki

— Gainz (@0x03soL) May 29, 2025

Even if this was not a popular position, this jarring cynicism still shocked the crypto community. Sure, crypto scams are rampant right now, but would PLUME really fake someone’s death to dump tokens?

Defenders immediately began noting all Plume’s major investors, claiming that the company has a clear history and market presence.

This bizarre incident only highlights a rather hidden ugliness in the crypto community. Perhaps MANTRA’s fall damaged investor confidence for the entire RWA market, or maybe users are just growing tired of scams.

It’s bad enough that PLUME users dumped their tokens after a team member’s death, but it’s far more concerning that some people think it’s all a scam.