Uniswap founder Hayden Adams took a drastic step on October 20 by burning 99% of the HayCoin (HAY) supply, worth approximately $650 billion. This move was prompted by concerns regarding price speculation surrounding HAY. Initially deployed for testing five years ago before Uniswap's launch, the HAY token became a subject of meme trading recently, with values reaching six figures.
Adams expressed discomfort owning almost the entire token supply while it was being treated as a speculative meme coin. Therefore, he decided to permanently remove the entire amount from circulation, emphasizing the token's value at around $650 billion.
However, burning tokens, while removing them from circulation, can lead to inflationary effects on their price due to reduced availability. As of the latest data, the HAY token is trading at $2,392,640, showing a significant increase of over 235% in the past 24 hours.
This move sparked discussions within the crypto community, with some users pointing out potential tax implications as a result of the token disposal. Others suggested that Adams could have sold the tokens before burning them and donated the profits. The action taken by Adams reflects the unpredictable nature of the crypto market and the challenges faced by project founders in managing their token supplies.
In sum, Uniswap's founder's decision to burn a significant portion of the HAY supply highlights the complexities of managing tokens in the crypto space, where meme trading and speculation can lead to unconventional responses.