In recent trading sessions, a significant transaction caught the eye of market analysts and enthusiasts alike, shedding light on potential market manipulations and their impact.
A notable instance involved an individual who generated a profit of $2.9 million in less than 20 minutes, utilizing the cryptocurrency SOL in transactions related to the token WATER. This event has sparked discussions among traders and investors about the implications of such actions on market transparency and investor trust.
According to Lookonchain, a blockchain analytics platform, the sequence of events unfolded swiftly. The trader in question established a new wallet and transferred funds from Bybit, a popular cryptocurrency exchange. Shortly thereafter, the individual executed a purchase of 612.23 million WATER tokens, representing 22.71% of the token’s total pooled liquidity.
Someone made 22,379 $SOL($2.9M) on $WATER in less than 20 minutes!This guy created a new wallet 5 hours ago and withdrew funds from #Bybit.Then he spent 16,900 $SOL($2.1M) to snipe 612.23M $WATER(22.71% of the pooled $WATER) in the same block where the deployer added… pic.twitter.com/eRIu0y8rvx
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) June 24, 2024
This transaction was timed to coincide precisely with the moment liquidity was added to the market by the token’s deployer. The timing and volume of the transaction suggest a strategic move to capitalize on market conditions before selling the acquired tokens for a significant profit.
Developer Activity Raises Questions
Additionally, more findings from Lookonchain have pointed out the Watercoin development team is also under investigation for being active in removing negative comments on Bitcointalk.
After a closer inspection, it turned out that immediately after the large transaction mentioned above, the WaterCoin team transferred 844.44 million of the current total supply of 5 billion WATER tokens to 11 new wallets. These wallets, which were not buyers of the token in its presale, began offloading WATER tokens from their aggregate holdings of around 18,600 SOL (~$2.35 million).
Is the #WaterCoin team selling $WATER?We noticed that the dev transferred 844.44M $WATER to 11 new wallets that didn't participate in the pre-sale.These 11 wallets are selling $WATER and have obtained more than 18,600 $SOL($2.35M) by selling $WATER! pic.twitter.com/PWItcb06RN
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) June 24, 2024
These activities call into question the motives and actual ethics of the team behind cryptocurrency projects. Tokens being spread into many new wallets, combined with immediately selling off these assets, would suggest that there may be no true desire to see the project succeed in the long term or, arguably even worse, is actually just a scheme to enable those who sit at the top to profit from high token prices at the cost of the average investor.
The case of WaterCoin and the transactions associated with it underscore the need for increased vigilance and regulatory oversight in the cryptocurrency markets. While blockchain technology offers unprecedented transparency, the pace and anonymity of transactions can also be exploited for manipulative practices.