$XPL Token Plummets After Alleged Whale Manipulation on Hyperliquid: Justin Sun Connection Sparks Outrage

The pre-market token XPL, associated with the highly anticipated Plasma network, was rocked by unprecedented volatility on the Hyperliquid decentralized exchange, raising alarms of deliberate market manipulation. A whale wallet, potentially linked to #TRON founder Justin Sun, is suspected of orchestrating a rapid pump-and-dump scheme, leaving retail traders and smaller liquidity providers reeling from massive liquidations. This incident underscores the vulnerabilities of decentralized finance (#DeFi ) platforms, particularly in pre-launch markets, and has ignited calls for stronger safeguards to protect investors.

Whale Triggers Chaos with Massive #XPL Trades

In a stunning display of market power, XPL surged by 200%, skyrocketing from $0.60 to a peak of $1.80 in mere minutes, only to crash back to $0.61 shortly after. This whirlwind event, which unfolded in under 10 minutes, was driven by a single whale wallet that executed a series of calculated moves:

Massive Capital Injection: The whale reportedly deposited $16 million in USDC into Hyperliquid, using the funds to open a substantial long position on XPL.

Rapid Exit for Profits: Within minutes, the whale closed a portion of the position, pocketing approximately $16 million in profits as the price spiked.

#Liquidation Cascade: The sudden surge wiped out dozens of short positions held by smaller traders, triggering a wave of forced liquidations that amplified the market’s volatility.

On-chain data reveals that only nine whale accounts remained with active positions after the frenzy—four holding long positions and five short—highlighting the severe liquidity drain caused by the event. The Hyperliquid platform, known for its fully on-chain order book and high-leverage perpetual contracts, became a battleground where retail traders were caught off guard.

Signs of Coordinated #Manipulation ...

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