On April 24, 2025, Alpaca Finance (ALPACA) unfortunately 'made it' to the Binance delisting list, becoming the focus of market discussion. According to past experience, tokens selected for delisting typically drop 50% first, then continue to decline for a few days, followed by a few waves of struggling rebounds, squeezing out the last bit of value. However, ALPACA behaved unusually. After the Binance delisting announcement was made, ALPACA dropped less than 20% within ten minutes, far below market expectations.
This made many 'smart' friends smell an opportunity: only a 20% drop? There's still a contract market? Isn't it time to short it a bit, take some profits with a light position, and at worst, cut losses and run!
However, the market trend gave these shorts a resounding slap. Starting from 12:10 on that day, ALPACA's price quickly rebounded, surging over 100% within an hour, followed by intense fluctuations; the long and short battle among retail investors became a feast for the main force to harvest. On that day, shorts exploded with a loss of $4.4609 million, and longs $1.6522 million.
Even more exaggerated, in the following days, the liquidation amounts continued to soar:
On April 25, shorts exploded with a loss of $13.3249 million, and longs $2.2671 million;
On April 26, shorts exploded with a loss of $13.1199 million, and longs $1.8753 million (some even exceeded Bitcoin in a 4-hour period);
On April 27, shorts exploded with a loss of $5.0061 million, and longs $2.6325 million.
Bybit became a disaster zone for liquidations; major exchanges shortened the funding rate settlement period for ALPACA from 8 hours to 1 hour, with rates dropping to -2%, causing shorts to be 'cut' once an hour without any breathing room.
Was this 'delisting carnival' a market failure, or a meticulously planned layout by the main force and project party? This article takes a deep dive into the reasons behind ALPACA's skyrocketing and plummeting prices, revealing the malicious nature of the project's controversial operations, and discussing the far-reaching impact of this incident on retail investors and the market.
The behind-the-scenes hand of the abnormal trend: main force manipulation and retail investor misjudgment.
ALPACA's abnormal performance stems from the catalytic effect of the Binance delisting announcement and the precise manipulation of funds by the main force. Usually, as previously mentioned, delistings result in an initial sharp drop before everyone throws away their chips, followed by a crazy pump and dump. Many people's first reaction is 'only a 20% drop? It's so strong after the announcement; why not short it!'
But if you pay attention to Alpaca's market capitalization, you will know that it is not large, and the circulating supply is easy to control. The main force first absorbs the funds, then uses contract leverage to push up the price, directly slaughtering the shorts. Later, there will be another wave of replication, with retail investors making the wrong judgment of shorting when the price rises and chasing longs when it falls, becoming the perfect script for the main force to harvest.
The project's bad operation: threat of increasing issuance and collapse of trust.
On the 25th, ALPACA surged 400% in a single day. At that time, the project party pulled a stunt, intending to increase the issuance of tokens. I speculate that the project party may have already sold off at low prices earlier, and at this moment, they used the market frenzy to threaten an increase in issuance, creating panic to induce retail investors to sell, thus creating an opportunity for the main force to absorb at low prices. Sure enough, the news of the increase in issuance triggered a brief market correction, causing panic selling among retail investors.
Subsequently, the project party tweeted to announce 'listening to community opinions, deciding not to increase issuance', but the related tweet was quickly deleted, leaving an empty trust vacuum.
What does deleting tweets count for? It's obvious they're playing with retail investors, and how much of the chips have been taken back! During this operation, the price trend's 'uncontrollable' strong rebound shows that the main force had already hoarded enough chips, taking advantage of the situation to push up prices and harvest another wave.
ALPACA's funding rate trick: How did they 'cut' retail investors' money?
ALPACA's funding rate is simply a 'tool' for the main force to harvest retail investors. What is the funding rate? Simply put, it is a fee that both longs and shorts in the contract market must pay periodically to balance their positions. When there are more shorts than longs, the shorts have to pay the longs. ALPACA, however, played this harshly, changing the settlement period from 8 hours to 1 hour, with rates soaring to -2%, causing shorts to be 'cut' every hour; who can withstand that?
How was it cut? On April 24, Binance announced the delisting, and ALPACA only dropped 20%. Retail investors felt something was off and rushed to short, with shorts suddenly accounting for 75%. As a result, the main force directly pumped the price, doubling it within an hour; shorts not only faced liquidations but also had to pay high funding rates. For example, if you had a $100,000 short position, you would have to pay $2,000 per hour; after a day, that's $48,000—who can withstand that? The main force was even more ruthless, controlling the spot price upward, causing shorts to face both liquidations and funding rates, leading to dual blood loss.
This funding rate design is clearly aimed at hurting retail investors. With a 1-hour settlement, retail investors have no time to react, and a -2% rate cuts like a knife. The main force profits from liquidations and funding rates, earning a windfall. The exchange even shortened the settlement period, making it seem like they colluded with the project party and the main force. ALPACA's operation turned shorts into a 'meat grinder', and retail investors' money was 'cleaned out' just like that.
Textbook of main force manipulation, the blood and tears of retail investors.
After the delisting, the price surged, and someone asked why there was such a crazy pump right after delisting; what is the logic? Let's take a look at He Yi's reply.
In this operation, the main force is like a director, and retail investors are the actors, being tortured according to the script. The shell-buying teacher not only recouped his losses this time but also made a fortune; this operation solidified the position of this operator in the dog farm world, and in the future, those projects that are about to be delisted will be treated like gods by the capital behind them.
About to enter the final stage.
ALPACA contracts will be delisted the day after tomorrow, on the 30th, and this performance will also come to an end.
Friends holding spot positions, regardless of whether you entered at a low or were stuck at a high, hurry to exit; after the curtain falls, the price will revert to its previous state. In a word—these days felt like a dream: played with ALPACA, started at 0.038, operated a few times in between, and now it’s still 0.038, but the difference is, my USDT is gone.
Those making money quietly exit, while those losing money lick their wounds alone; after a few days when a new hotspot emerges, no one will bring up this story anymore!!!
ALPACA's 'delisting carnival' left not only the blood and tears of retail investors but also the naked reality of the market: small-cap tokens are too easy to manipulate, high-leverage contracts are the graveyard for retail investors, and if the project party remains opaque, trust will collapse sooner or later.
Finally, I advise, the ALPACA incident is a lesson. In the future, when encountering coins that are delisted, do not rush to short, nor chase longs. Be vigilant and see through the main force's tricks. If ALPACA wants to turn things around, it must honestly disclose its economic model and stop playing tricks with issuance and removal, otherwise this 'alpaca' may completely cool off in the DeFi arena. As for retail investors? We should still take it easy and not be the 'chives' for the main force anymore!
