Meteora crypto price crashed by over 40% on its first trading day after many airdrop recipients dumped their tokens. MET token plunged to a low of $0.5114, down from the intraday high of $0.90. This plunge brought its market capitalization to about $263 million and its fully diluted valuation to $548 million.
Meteora Crypto Price Crashed as Insiders Sold
On-chain data shows that insiders sold heavily as they cashed out. Data from Arkham shows that the three top addresses involved in the TRUMP token launch received MET tokens worth over $4.2 million and sold them all through OKX.
More airdrop recipients have likely dumped their tokens after the launch. These investors and insiders do this to cash out when the token is at a high price.
It is common for these investors to sell part of their holdings, which helps them achieve capital appreciation while protecting their assets.
MET price is also plunging, in line with what happens during an airdrop. Historically, newly launched tokens rise briefly before plunging due to relatively weak demand.
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A good example of this is what happened after the Pi Network mainnet launch in February. The token initially jumped to a record high of $3, then plunged to $0.2 as many pioneers dumped while supply continued to rise.
A closer look at other airdrops shows that they all jumped initially and then plunged. Donald Trump’s World Liberty Finance (WLFI) token jumped to $0.3200 and then plummeted to a low of $0.0865.
Similarly, the TRUMP meme coin price initially soared to $50 after its January launch and then dropped to its current price of $5. Other tokens, such as LayerZero, DoubleZero, and Wormhole, had similar price performance.
Will the MET Price Bounce Back?
For starters, Meteora is one of the biggest players in the Solana ecosystem. It is a top decentralized exchange with over $854 million in total value locked (TVL). Its network handled over $30.8 billion in volume in September, up from $7.5 billion in August. Its volume was $24.2 billion this month.
So, is it safe to buy the Meteora dip? A closer look at recent airdrops shows they plummet after launch, rebound a bit as some investors buy the dip, and then resume their downtrend. WLFI price rose to $0.32, crashed to $0.1612, and then rebounded to $0.256. It then crashed.
Similarly, Spark (SPK) price initially plunged to $0.029, then short-squeezed to $0.1896 a few days later, and then crashed to $0.04. Therefore, there is a likelihood that the Meteora price will follow suit, making it a risky investment.
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