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NEW DELHI (CoinChapter.com) — Tellor’s TRB token became the victim of a massive pump and dump on the last day of 2023. The price movement saw TRB price pump over 139% to a daily high near $619 before dropping nearly 70% to close trading near $204.
The TRB pump and dump helped short sellers net massive profits if social media reports are to be believed. However, taking the reports with a pinch of salt would be wise.
Several users shared their success stories on X, claiming gains to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Users claimed to make massive profits on TRB pump and dump
A crypto trader, CryptoMoneyKing, stated he made his “biggest profit in a single trade” during the TRB price pump and dump on Dec. 31.
Several other traders made similar claims. Interestingly, the language of some of these posts was nearly identical, suggesting a likely ploy to entice traders to open more short positions against the Tellor token.
A pump and dump refer to a phenomenon where the value of a crypto asset rises quickly before traders book profits, resulting in a sudden drop. Though illegal under securities law almost globally, such market movements are surprisingly common in the crypto sector.
The TRB price pump and dump also resulted in the liquidation of assets worth $68 million, according to blockchain data provider Lookonchain.
While claims of massive gains were doing the round, several users also reported losses. TRB price had been trending upwards since Dec. 21, which attracted new buyers to the market. As a result, when the TRB price crashed, many users suffered losses.
Crypto trader Satoshi Flipper blamed FOMO for the losses, advising his 170,000-odd followers to be wary when some “random sh*t (sic)” starts pumping upwards.
Whales Behind Market Manipulation
Beginning in late summer 2023, large-scale investors, aka ‘whales,’ accumulated TRB at around $15 per token. This buying spree led to a massive increase in TRB’s value, soaring from $10 in July 2023 to its all-time high of $619 on Dec. 31, a jump of 6,090%.
Market data provider Spot On Chain highlighted that 20 whale wallets held about 660,000 TRB tokens, which the group bought in Aug. 2023. However, as the Tellor token price pumped, the whale wallets started depositing their tokens on exchanges.
The report led to several market participants speculating that the whales were likely behind the TRB price pump and dump on Dec. 31. Furthermore, some users claimed that the Tellor developers were involved in the market manipulation.
Interestingly, the whales continue to hold a large share of their TRB token holdings.
TRB Price Paints Miniscule Recovery
Meanwhile, TRB price painted a minuscule recovery on Jan. 1. The token’s price swung between $270 and $123 on the first day of 2024, indicating the massive volatility after the recent TRB pump and dump.
TRBUSD daily chart with RSI. Source: Tradingview.com
However, if the selling continues, the FUD could reignite the TRB price pump and dump. As a result, Tellor’s price could drop to the 20-day EMA (red wave) support near $174.
Failure of the immediate support could see traders open new short positions targeting the 50-day EMA (purple wave) support near $135.
On the off chance, TRB price starts rallying, the Tellor token price could break above immediate resistance near $211 before targeting the resistance near $243.
The RSI for TRB was neutral, with a score of 63.8 on the daily charts.
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