In just two hours, — the token powering the Polyhedra ecosystem — dropped over 80% in value, from $1.75 to $0.35. This was not just a price adjustment; it was a calculated event of significant impact that sent shockwaves through the crypto space.
So what exactly happened? This is an analysis of the chaos, who triggered it, and what it means for the future.
The flame: Coordinated activity of whales
The collapse began with six whale wallets making strategic moves in the ZKJ/KOGE liquidity pools. These wallets:
Withdrawing liquidity from the ZKJ/KOGE pairs
Exchanged KOGE (the governance token of 48 Club DAO) for ZKJ
Sold 5.23 million ZKJ, worth about 9.66 million dollars
This tactic has drained liquidity from both tokens — particularly from the KOGE/USDT pool — causing a sudden and severe price drop.
Domino Effect: $100 million in liquidations
Whale selling is not the end.
As ZKJ's price plummeted, leveraged buy positions began to get liquidated. Within four hours, nearly $100 million was wiped out from the market — accounting for up to 81.3% of total crypto liquidations during that period.
Retail traders were completely taken by surprise. Those using leverage had no chance as liquidations piled up.
A perfect storm: Unlock, Sentiment & Liquidity
Looking deeper, it is clear that this was not entirely natural.
A scheduled unlock of 15.53 million ZKJ (worth about 32 million dollars before the collapse) is approaching.
Whales may have anticipated the unlock, expecting selling pressure.
The broader market has been very weak — Nasdaq has dropped 1.5%.
Low liquidity ZKJ pools make large sales easily capable of crashing prices.
The convergence of timing and vulnerability turned what would have been a normal unlock into a catastrophic event.
Aftermath: Damage control and lack of trust
In the aftermath:
Polyhedra blamed the collapse on 'unusual on-chain activity'
Binance has removed ZKJ/KOGE from the Alpha Points rewards program, effective June 17
The crypto community on X has exploded with accusations of a 'scam', targeting both Polyhedra and 48 Club DAO
Trust in the project — and its governance mechanisms — has been severely damaged.
The road ahead: Can ZKJ recover?
Technically, ZKJ seems to be oversold, with RSI in the 23.9–28 range — a zone that could signal a recovery.
But recovery is not just about the charts.
A second unlock is scheduled for June 19, and unless transparency improves and liquidity returns, ZKJ could stagnate between $0.25 and $0.40 in the short term.
Key points: A cautionary tale
This event highlights an important formula in crypto risk:
> 🚫 Low liquidity + upcoming unlocks + whale control = extreme vulnerability
Retail investors have borne the brunt of this collapse. And without clear communication and action from the project team, trust — once lost — may take longer to return than the price.