Meteora crashes 40% as TRUMP-linked insiders corner airdrop
According to Arkham Intelligence, three wallets linked to the TRUMP meme coin team received a combined $4.2 million worth of Meteora.
- Meteora crashed by more than 40% on the first day that trading started
- Wallets linked to the TRUMP memecoin were among the top five recipients in the Meteora airdrop
- The wallet holders immediately deposited their tokens into the OKX exchange
- TRUMP insider wallet patterns sparked backlash among smaller investors
When Meteora launched its long-awaited airdrop on Solana, thousands of liquidity providers lined up hoping for a share. However, on-chain suggests that well-known insiders, linked to the Official Trump memecoin, might have gamed the system. What followed was the token crashing on its first day of launch.
On Thursday, October 23, Arkham Intelligence revealed that three addresses involved with the TRUMP (TRUMP) memecoin were among the top five Meteora airdrop recipients. The wallets, which also bought up TRUMP on day one, received a combined $4.2 million worth of Meteora tokens.
Arkham Intelligence also revealed that all three addresses deposited their entire airdrop rewards to OKX. Notably, the exchange launched Meteora to USDT spot trading on the same day, which would enable the holders of the wallets to sell their tokens.
Meteora crashes 40% post-launch
The move has sparked quick backlash from the Meteora community, with many accusing TRUMP-linked wallet holders of gaming the airdrop. What is more, holders characterized the move as a rug pull, speculating that insiders had already sold their MET tokens.
While CEX transactions are not visible on the blockchain, moving the tokens to an exchange typically indicates an intention to sell. What is more, the price of Meteora fell more than 40% after its launch event and listing on major exchanges. At the time of writing, the Solana-based token was trading at $0.5380, with a market cap of $258.38 million.
