Plasma Leadership Rejects Insider Selling Claims as XPL Token Plunges
Paul Faecks, founder of blockchain project Plasma, denied allegations of insider selling after the project�s native XPL token fell by more than half from its post-launch peak. Questions arose within the community following a significant price drop over several days.
Launch and Volatility
Plasma launched its mainnet beta and the XPL token on September 25. The layer-1 blockchain aims to provide faster and cheaper stablecoin payments. After the launch, XPL quickly surged to nearly $1.70 but began a steady decline, hitting $0.83 by Wednesday, according to TradingView. This represented more than a 50% decrease from its highest price.
Community Suspicion and Onchain Analysis
The rapid price drop prompted some in the Plasma community to suspect that the team might have sold tokens using algorithmic strategies, such as time-weighted average price (TWAP) selling. Independent blockchain researcher ManaMoon pointed to onchain movements allegedly coming from the Plasma team vault, suggesting that over 600 million XPL were sent to exchanges before the public launch. Community member crypto_popseye directly accused the team and trading firm Wintermute of being behind the token�s price drop.
- ManaMoon alleged the use of TWAP selling that retail buyers could not absorb.
- crypto_popseye criticized the team�s actions, expressing skepticism over the project�s future and market handling.
Plasma Team's Response
In response, founder Paul Faecks stressed that team and investor token allocations remain locked for three years, with a one-year cliff. �No team members have sold any XPL,� Faecks wrote on Thursday. He further denied any partnership or agreements with Wintermute, saying the team has the same information about the firm�s holdings as the public.
Ongoing Community Concerns
Despite these assurances, some community members remained unsatisfied, questioning the clarity of Faecks' statements regarding other token categories, such as those held for ecosystem and growth initiatives.
Faecks stated that the team remains focused on building and declined to make further comments. The Plasma team did not respond to further requests for clarification by the time of publication.
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