Aptos: This One Has Red Flags

SummaryAptos is the latest Layer 1 smart contract blockchain to enter the cryptocurrency arena.There is a substantial amount of dilution remaining in the network's native token.The token's insider-heavy pre-launch allocation has caused criticism in the broader crypto community.Earlier this month, the cryptocurrency market saw the mainnet launch of yet another Layer 1 blockchain. This new one is called Aptos (APT-USD). While Aptos is entering an already crowded smart contract space during a broad crypto downturn, the native coin of the chain has been on a bit of a ride over the last week, having reached $13 before falling back down to $6. The coin has since oscillated between $8 and $9 over the last few days:TradingViewDespite just a week since launch, with $1.1 billion in implied value, APT is already a top 50 ranked coin by market capitalization. In this article, we'll take a look at the team behind the project, the tokenomics, the early network activity, and the general response from the crypto community.Development team & early investorsThe development team behind the Aptos blockchain is Aptos Labs. The co-founders of Aptos Labs are Mohammad Shaikh and Avery Ching. Shaikh is the CEO of Aptos Labs and previously worked on the now defunct Diem project from Meta Platforms (META). Ching was the tech lead for Diem and there is reportedly quite a bit of development carryover from the Libra/Diem stablecoin project to Aptos Lab...