On Tuesday morning, several altcoins on Binance experienced sudden and sharp price drops. Notably, the meme token Act I: The AI Prophecy (ACT) fell by 53% within 30 minutes, prompting concerns of a major sell-off, allegedly involving market maker Wintermute.
Other tokens including DEXE, KAVA, DF, HIPPO, BANANAS31, LUMIA, TST, and QUICK also plummeted by 10% to 35% in just one hour.
ACT Crash Draws Attention
ACT, a Solana-based token, attracted attention for its steep decline. Prior to the crash, it had traded in the $0.18–$0.19 range throughout March. On the morning of April 2, its price suddenly dropped to $0.071. Its market capitalization, which had peaked at $794 million, dropped to $67 million.
The ACT team acknowledged the situation and stated that they are working on a response plan with relevant partners.
“We are aware of the situation and are actively reviewing it with all stakeholders,” said the team in a message to the ACT community.
Speculation About a Large Liquidation
Some community members speculated that the crash was caused by a massive asset sale by Wintermute. However, Wintermute CEO Evgeny Gaevoy denied any involvement.
Crypto analyst Altcoin Sherpa noted that a technical rebound might occur, but warned that interest in ACT could fade quickly. He suggested the drop was driven by a reallocation of positions among traders.
“Nobody’s buying, nobody’s selling,” he commented.
Binance Policy Updates Fuel Rumors
On-chain data platform Lookonchain pointed out recent changes to Binance’s margin trading policy, including updates related to ACT. Some users suspected a connection between the price drop and new leverage conditions.
Binance later confirmed that the price movement was triggered by the actions of four users. Three VIP clients sold ACT worth $514,000 on the spot market, while a non-VIP user transferred a large amount of ACT from other platforms and sold approximately $540,000 worth of tokens in a short time.
“This caused a price drop, which then led other traders to close futures positions, amplifying the overall decline in other tokens,” the exchange explained.
No Forced Liquidations, Says Binance
Binance stated that it had proactively reduced the leverage limits on the ACTUSDT futures contract. The platform emphasized that no forced position reductions occurred during this period.
Binance added that it is continuing to investigate and will release additional information if necessary. The company reminded users of the crypto market’s inherent volatility and urged caution when trading.
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