The Chia network is heavily pre-mined. The Chia organization controls much of the currency. They plan to share the pre-mined coins with investors in exchange for real dollars.<p>This isn't a secret. It's part of their "business whitepaper": <a href="https://www.chia.net/assets/Chia-Business-Whitepaper-2021-02-09-v1.0.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://www.chia.net/assets/Chia-Business-Whitepaper-2021-02...</a><p>Investors trading their brand recognition for discounted pre-mined coins that they can flip into the exchanges is a quick and easy way to make money on these projects.