What happens when a "delisted" token refuses to die? Alpaca Finance ($ALPACA) surged over 300% after Binance’s delisting announcement on April 24, 2025, defying every market expectation. Instead of crashing, ALPACA rocketed from $0.029 to nearly $0.24 in just two days, delivering one of the wildest rallies of the year.

Binance confirmed $ALPACA would be removed by May 2, alongside #Playdapp ($PDA), #viberate ($VIB), and #WingFinance ($WING). While those tokens collapsed, #ALPACA became a complete anomaly. After an early 20% dip, short-sellers piled in—only to get trapped in a brutal short squeeze that pushed the rally past 111%, eventually touching a 319% gain.

Speculation of market manipulation quickly surfaced. Binance’s co-founder He Yi suggested unusual forces might be creating "exit liquidity," while posts on X accused insiders of pumping the token. Meanwhile, Alpaca’s strong tokenomics played a hidden role—over 34.6 million tokens (about 18.4% of total supply) had been burned since early 2025, thinning liquidity and making sudden price explosions easier.

The broader bullish mood in April 2025 amplified everything. With Bitcoin hovering around $90,000, even delisted coins could rally if enough speculative money chased them. Some traders clung to Alpaca’s past strength—it had survived a delisting before, successfully relisting on BitMart in August 2024—but this optimism may be dangerously misplaced.

Despite the hype, caution is critical. $ALPACA’s rally shows classic signs of speculative frenzy: alleged manipulation, thin liquidity, parabolic moves without fresh fundamentals. After May 2, liquidity will likely dry up as Binance delists it, increasing the risk of a sharp crash.

In the end, $ALPACA’s surge reflects a chaotic cocktail: speculation, short squeezes, supply shocks, community hope—and massive risk beneath the surface. Traders betting on this rally should remember: what rises this fast in crypto often falls even faster once reality returns.