In the crypto world, it’s not uncommon to see tokens collapse within hours.

But the fall of ZKJ stands out — resembling a “fake stablecoin simulation” fueled by high liquidity, community hype, temporary incentives… and then a sudden collapse.

Within just one hour, ZKJ plummeted from $2 to $0.30, wiping out more than 83% of its market cap.

According to Binance Alpha data, both ZKJ and KOGE plunged over 60% in the past hour. ZKJ is currently trading at $0.78 (-60.56% in 24h), and KOGE at $23.61 (-60.75%).

Binance confirmed it had detected unusual volatility and attributed it to “liquidity withdrawals by whales across multiple exchanges and chains, along with a series of cascading liquidations.”

Meanwhile, the KOGE team (48 Club) clarified that KOGE never had token lockups and never promised to refrain from selling treasury assets.

Phase 1: ZKJ Poses as a Stablecoin

For over a month, ZKJ acted like a stablecoin — ultra-low slippage, $20 million in liquidity, used widely to farm Binance Alpha points.

At one point, its market cap was 3x zkSync’s. But the “stability” was artificial — built on speculation and temporary incentives, not fundamentals.

Phase 2: A Bubble Built to Pop

ZKJ's design looked stable — tight LP ranges, strong farming incentives, a hype-driven community. But in reality:

No business model

No real cash flow

A speculative, reward-driven user base

One large withdrawal was all it took to trigger collapse.

Phase 3: Not Just a Price Drop, but a Liquidity Drain

On June 13th, a major wallet (0x364…) pulled $3.5 million in ZKJ-KOGE liquidity and dumped. The market structure crumbled. Slippage spiked. MEV bots swarmed in. LPs panicked.

Volume surged to $12 million, then collapsed. KOGE was dragged down too, due to tight liquidity ties to ZKJ.

Within an hour, more wallets joined in, relay-selling millions of ZKJ. Then, 15.5 million ZKJ were unlocked — adding fuel to fire.

A Textbook Dump Playbook

One whale pulls LP, swaps to create volume, then sells.

A second wallet follows, copying the pattern.

A third wallet offloads all its tokens — final blow.

Together, they triggered panic. The unlock of 15 million tokens sealed the collapse.

KOGE, while not the initiator, suffered collateral damage due to its liquidity pairing with ZKJ.

48 Club had even posted a risk warning before the event — suggesting they sensed what was coming.

ZKJ won’t be the last token to fall victim to fake liquidity and hollow hype.

In crypto, things that look stable often aren’t. And when the music stops, only those who understand the risks can exit in time.

The lesson: short-term yield cannot replace long-term research. High liquidity ≠ safety.