Clever comparison, but the key difference is there’s no mechanism for a rug pull for most startups. Unless they reach a huge valuation, the stock is absolutely not liquid. There’s no way to cash out.

The incentives are the same. Rug-pulls just make it faster to cash out.

> There’s no way to cash out.

There are precisely two: Go for an IPO, or get acquired by a major tech firm.

Both of these run near-exclusively on hype. So long as the company isn't showing actively fraudulent numbers, you can IPO with a terrible product that doesn't turn a profit.