Publisher Cheng-Wei Hu deleted the tweet, causing panic in the community, and was questioned as a "rug pull" eyewash.
Written by: Luke, Mars Finance
What happened?
On May 20, 2025, in the afternoon, the $NOTEBOOK token was launched on the Launchcoin platform, released by Cheng-Wei Hu, who claims to be a developer of Google Notebook LM (Twitter ID: @HcwXd). Cheng-Wei Hu also showcased a GitHub page with 266 stars, attempting to endorse the token and attract investors' attention. After the tweet was released, $NOTEBOOK quickly sparked a market frenzy, with many investors viewing it as a potential project in the "AI + Education" concept, rushing in.
Within just 20 minutes of going live, $NOTEBOOK's market cap skyrocketed to $4.4 million, with trading volume surging to $166.00K. However, around 18:30, the market changed dramatically, and the price plummeted by 96% in just 5 minutes, shrinking its market value to just $100,000. At the same time as the price crashed, Cheng-Wei Hu deleted the tweet announcing the official project, further fueling the panic in the community. Discussion on Platform X spiked by 200% in an hour, but negative sentiment was up to 70%.
On-chain data shows that the front address (suspected of being a mouse warehouse) sold off at the peak, rapidly clearing 15% of the tokens. Some in the community expressed regret during their review: "I completely ignored the holding distribution, added positions at a low point, got cut at the high, and directly lost half." The community generally believes this is a carefully planned "rug pull," but some speculate that Cheng-Wei Hu's account may have been hacked, after all, the risk of running away after issuing tokens under real-name verification is extremely high.
What is Google Notebook LM?
Google Notebook LM is an AI-driven note-taking tool designed to help users efficiently organize, understand, and share information. It was launched in 2023 and quickly gained popularity among educators and content creators due to its powerful AI features. Users can upload documents, PDFs, and even web content, and Notebook LM will automatically generate mind maps, summaries, and key questions to help users quickly extract core information. In September 2024, Google added support for YouTube videos and audio files to Notebook LM, allowing users to transform video content into conversational podcasts, a feature particularly appreciated by teachers and students. For example, a high school teacher can use Notebook LM to organize historical course materials into mind maps, while students can review knowledge points through audio overviews, significantly enhancing learning efficiency.
The innovation of Notebook LM lies not only in its technological capabilities but also in its user-friendly design. Its interactive mind-mapping feature allows users to delve into related concepts by clicking on nodes, resembling a "knowledge exploration" experience. Google has stated that the goal of Notebook LM is to "augment human intellect," rather than to replace human thinking, and this philosophy is also reflected in the mind map screenshots shared by the publisher in their tweets. However, the $NOTEBOOK token has no technical connection to Notebook LM. The publisher's so-called "weekend project" merely borrows the name of a Google product, attempting to create hype for the coin. The community quickly discovered that $NOTEBOOK doesn't even have a white paper, let alone a technical architecture or practical application scenarios, and is purely a hollow concept hype.
This "name borrowing" behavior not only damages the reputation of Notebook LM, but also makes investors more skeptical about the authenticity of the AI+ crypto project. Google Notebook LM, as a solid AI education tool that was supposed to have nothing to do with the speculative boom in the crypto market, was gratuitously drawn into this farce.
Community Voices and Reflections on Launchcoin: The Chaos of Web2 Identity Harvesting in Web3
The $NOTEBOOK crash event has triggered intense reactions in the crypto community, intertwining anger, skepticism, and reflection. Some in the community angrily denounce: "This is definitely a real-name rug, it's too arrogant! I'm ready to write a report to Google HR; issuing tokens with Notebook LM clearly violates professional ethics. If it weren't for an American, they might lose their job and be deported; if it is an American, they would still lose their job!" This sentiment represents the feelings of many investors who believe the issuer has deceived the community by using their identity as a Google employee, potentially crossing the red line of professional ethics.
However, there are different opinions within the community. Some raised questions: "The publisher's Twitter has no official Google followers or likes, which may mean the account has been hacked. Who would be so foolish as to rug pull themselves?" Others analyzed from the project's perspective: "The $NOTEBOOK is just a generic AI meme, the narrative is hollow, and the team may be borrowing identities for hype." Another community member added: "$NOTEBOOK lacks mainstream media coverage and social buzz, on-chain distribution transparency is average, and it's hard to break through emotional bottlenecks in the short term, making it suitable for high-risk players to ambush rather than chase highs." The community sentiment is divided, with some calling for a thorough investigation into the publisher's true identity, while others urge investors to remain vigilant and learn to assess project value through on-chain data.
As a new token issuance platform launched in 2025, Launchcoin has quickly become popular due to its low threshold and high return potential, but it has also become the hardest hit area of "rug pull". Some people in the community lamented, "Launchcoins are a double-edged sword, giving Web2 projects a chance to be exposed, but also giving scammers a chance to take advantage of them." The publisher endorsed the token as a Google employee and quickly earned the trust of the community, but this trust was built on an unverified "celebrity effect". Someone in the community reflected, "It's too easy for us to believe in the background of Web2 giants, but this identity is not equal to credibility in Web3 at all." In fact, the separation between Web2 and Web3 lies in trust mechanisms: Web2 relies on centralized endorsements (such as company reputation), while Web3 emphasizes decentralized verification (such as on-chain data). $NOTEBOOK incident shows that the trust endorsement of Web2 identity in Web3 requires more rigorous verification, such as through on-chain background checks or authenticity checks for social media interactions.
The low review threshold of the Launchcoin platform has also been criticized. The community calls for the platform to introduce stricter review mechanisms, such as requiring project parties to provide white papers, transparency of on-chain addresses, and even allowing community participation in reviews through decentralized governance (DAO). In addition, investors also need to enhance their risk awareness, learning to judge project value through holding distribution, capital flow, and narrative logic, rather than being driven by FOMO (fear of missing out). The lesson from $NOTEBOOK is painful, but it also serves as a wake-up call for the community: the freedom and opportunities of Web3 coexist, but building trust requires more transparent mechanisms. Only when the community learns to verify trust in a decentralized manner can the chaos of "harvesting" Web2 identities gradually decrease.
The content is for reference only, not a solicitation or offer. No investment, tax, or legal advice provided. See Disclaimer for more risks disclosure.
Is the real-name rug a scam? The rise and fall of Notebook in 5 minutes.
Written by: Luke, Mars Finance
What happened?
On May 20, 2025, in the afternoon, the $NOTEBOOK token was launched on the Launchcoin platform, released by Cheng-Wei Hu, who claims to be a developer of Google Notebook LM (Twitter ID: @HcwXd). Cheng-Wei Hu also showcased a GitHub page with 266 stars, attempting to endorse the token and attract investors' attention. After the tweet was released, $NOTEBOOK quickly sparked a market frenzy, with many investors viewing it as a potential project in the "AI + Education" concept, rushing in.
Within just 20 minutes of going live, $NOTEBOOK's market cap skyrocketed to $4.4 million, with trading volume surging to $166.00K. However, around 18:30, the market changed dramatically, and the price plummeted by 96% in just 5 minutes, shrinking its market value to just $100,000. At the same time as the price crashed, Cheng-Wei Hu deleted the tweet announcing the official project, further fueling the panic in the community. Discussion on Platform X spiked by 200% in an hour, but negative sentiment was up to 70%.
On-chain data shows that the front address (suspected of being a mouse warehouse) sold off at the peak, rapidly clearing 15% of the tokens. Some in the community expressed regret during their review: "I completely ignored the holding distribution, added positions at a low point, got cut at the high, and directly lost half." The community generally believes this is a carefully planned "rug pull," but some speculate that Cheng-Wei Hu's account may have been hacked, after all, the risk of running away after issuing tokens under real-name verification is extremely high.
What is Google Notebook LM?
Google Notebook LM is an AI-driven note-taking tool designed to help users efficiently organize, understand, and share information. It was launched in 2023 and quickly gained popularity among educators and content creators due to its powerful AI features. Users can upload documents, PDFs, and even web content, and Notebook LM will automatically generate mind maps, summaries, and key questions to help users quickly extract core information. In September 2024, Google added support for YouTube videos and audio files to Notebook LM, allowing users to transform video content into conversational podcasts, a feature particularly appreciated by teachers and students. For example, a high school teacher can use Notebook LM to organize historical course materials into mind maps, while students can review knowledge points through audio overviews, significantly enhancing learning efficiency.
The innovation of Notebook LM lies not only in its technological capabilities but also in its user-friendly design. Its interactive mind-mapping feature allows users to delve into related concepts by clicking on nodes, resembling a "knowledge exploration" experience. Google has stated that the goal of Notebook LM is to "augment human intellect," rather than to replace human thinking, and this philosophy is also reflected in the mind map screenshots shared by the publisher in their tweets. However, the $NOTEBOOK token has no technical connection to Notebook LM. The publisher's so-called "weekend project" merely borrows the name of a Google product, attempting to create hype for the coin. The community quickly discovered that $NOTEBOOK doesn't even have a white paper, let alone a technical architecture or practical application scenarios, and is purely a hollow concept hype.
This "name borrowing" behavior not only damages the reputation of Notebook LM, but also makes investors more skeptical about the authenticity of the AI+ crypto project. Google Notebook LM, as a solid AI education tool that was supposed to have nothing to do with the speculative boom in the crypto market, was gratuitously drawn into this farce.
Community Voices and Reflections on Launchcoin: The Chaos of Web2 Identity Harvesting in Web3
The $NOTEBOOK crash event has triggered intense reactions in the crypto community, intertwining anger, skepticism, and reflection. Some in the community angrily denounce: "This is definitely a real-name rug, it's too arrogant! I'm ready to write a report to Google HR; issuing tokens with Notebook LM clearly violates professional ethics. If it weren't for an American, they might lose their job and be deported; if it is an American, they would still lose their job!" This sentiment represents the feelings of many investors who believe the issuer has deceived the community by using their identity as a Google employee, potentially crossing the red line of professional ethics.
However, there are different opinions within the community. Some raised questions: "The publisher's Twitter has no official Google followers or likes, which may mean the account has been hacked. Who would be so foolish as to rug pull themselves?" Others analyzed from the project's perspective: "The $NOTEBOOK is just a generic AI meme, the narrative is hollow, and the team may be borrowing identities for hype." Another community member added: "$NOTEBOOK lacks mainstream media coverage and social buzz, on-chain distribution transparency is average, and it's hard to break through emotional bottlenecks in the short term, making it suitable for high-risk players to ambush rather than chase highs." The community sentiment is divided, with some calling for a thorough investigation into the publisher's true identity, while others urge investors to remain vigilant and learn to assess project value through on-chain data.
As a new token issuance platform launched in 2025, Launchcoin has quickly become popular due to its low threshold and high return potential, but it has also become the hardest hit area of "rug pull". Some people in the community lamented, "Launchcoins are a double-edged sword, giving Web2 projects a chance to be exposed, but also giving scammers a chance to take advantage of them." The publisher endorsed the token as a Google employee and quickly earned the trust of the community, but this trust was built on an unverified "celebrity effect". Someone in the community reflected, "It's too easy for us to believe in the background of Web2 giants, but this identity is not equal to credibility in Web3 at all." In fact, the separation between Web2 and Web3 lies in trust mechanisms: Web2 relies on centralized endorsements (such as company reputation), while Web3 emphasizes decentralized verification (such as on-chain data). $NOTEBOOK incident shows that the trust endorsement of Web2 identity in Web3 requires more rigorous verification, such as through on-chain background checks or authenticity checks for social media interactions.
The low review threshold of the Launchcoin platform has also been criticized. The community calls for the platform to introduce stricter review mechanisms, such as requiring project parties to provide white papers, transparency of on-chain addresses, and even allowing community participation in reviews through decentralized governance (DAO). In addition, investors also need to enhance their risk awareness, learning to judge project value through holding distribution, capital flow, and narrative logic, rather than being driven by FOMO (fear of missing out). The lesson from $NOTEBOOK is painful, but it also serves as a wake-up call for the community: the freedom and opportunities of Web3 coexist, but building trust requires more transparent mechanisms. Only when the community learns to verify trust in a decentralized manner can the chaos of "harvesting" Web2 identities gradually decrease.