The Setup Behind the Manipulation

The sequence began when an unknown investor withdrew around $3 million in USDC from OKX. These funds were then distributed across 19 separate wallets on Hyperliquid. The trader opened massive 10× leveraged long positions on POPCAT, pushing total exposure to $30 million. As leverage amplified the upward movement, the sudden price climb caught other traders’ attention.

This artificial pump wasn’t limited to Hyperliquid. The same trader allegedly placed $20–$30 million worth of buy orders around the $0.21 level on multiple global exchanges. This created the illusion of genuine market demand, tricking other investors into buying — a classic orchestrated manipulation strategy.

Triggering the Collapse

As momentum built, retail traders rushed in. The critical moment came when the whale cancelled all spoofed buy orders at once. The sudden disappearance of buy support left the market exposed, causing POPCAT to crash nearly 25% within minutes. In the last 24 hours, approximately $65 million in liquidations occurred the majority coming from long positions. This liquidation cascade accelerated the drop from $0.20 to $0.12. The manipulator lost their entire $3 million collateral.

Hyperliquid’s liquidity pool (HLP) had to absorb $26–$28 million of the whale’s failing positions to prevent a deeper systemic collapse, resulting in $4.9 million in losses for the pool.

Exchange Response & Damage Control

Following the market chaos, the Hyperliquid team implemented emergency measures:

• Remaining high-risk positions were manually closed
• The Arbitrum bridge was temporarily paused to stabilize liquidity flows
• Deposits and withdrawals remained open, but concerns grew about possible structural weaknesses within Hyperliquid’s liquidity model

Some analysts believe this was a high-risk trade gone wrong, while others suspect a deliberate stress test or an attempt to exploit weaknesses in the exchange’s liquidity engine. It also marks the third major disruption Hyperliquid faced in 2025.

Market Reaction

The event highlights how vulnerable small and mid-cap meme coins are to extreme volatility. Analysts warn that if the current support zone breaks, POPCAT faces a high probability of dropping below $0.10. Overall, the POPCAT incident underscores a critical reality in DeFi: Liquidity remains extremely fragile and highly susceptible to manipulative behavior, posing serious risks for traders and protocols alike.

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The post POPCAT Price Plunges Sharply After Million-Dollar Manipulation appeared first on Coin Engineer.

Following the release of the Fed minutes and the heated discussions at the Jackson Hole Symposium, cryptocurrencies have maintained their upward momentum. Bitcoin, which has managed to stay above $60,000, is now eyeing the $62,000 resistance level.

This bullish sentiment in Bitcoin has provided a tailwind for altcoins, especially memecoins, which have seen gains of over 20% in the past week.

Here are the top-performing altcoins today:

Sun Token (SUN): As the native token of Tron’s decentralized exchange, Sun (SUN) has seen a remarkable 50% increase in the past 24 hours. The launch of Justin Sun’s memecoin platform has further boosted SUN’s momentum. With a trading volume of $522 million and a market capitalization of $230 million, SUN is undoubtedly a standout performer.

Popcat (POPCAT): This Solana-based memecoin has gained nearly 30% in the last 24 hours. Listed on Binance futures, POPCAT has been on a roll for the past two days. With a trading volume of $165 million and a market capitalization of $600 million, POPCAT is a force to be reckoned with in the memecoin space.

Tellor Tributes (TRB): This decentralized finance (DeFi) project, which was a star performer in the previous bull run, has surged 20% in the past 24 hours. With a trading volume of $66 million and a market capitalization of $183 million, TRB is making a strong comeback.

Maga (TRUMP): Inspired by US presidential candidate Donald Trump, this anonymous memecoin has gained 20% in the past 24 hours. Over the past week, MAGA has seen a 35% increase in value.

Io.net (IO): Launched in 2024, Io.net has been making waves in the tech and AI sectors. The token has surged 19% in the past 24 hours, reaching a market capitalization of $193 million with a trading volume of $244 million.

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Here are the altcoins that dominated the day:

1- Popcat (POPCAT)

Popcat (POPCAT), a cat-themed memecoin launched on the Solana blockchain, has emerged as the top-performing altcoin of the day. POPCAT saw an impressive 27% increase in the last 24 hours. According to CoinGecko, POPCAT recorded a trading volume of $65 million within this period and has a market capitalization of $500 million.

2- Neiro (NEIRO)

Inspired by the new dog of the owner of Kabosu—the dog that inspired Dogecoin (DOGE)—Neiro (NEIRO) is the second top-gaining altcoin of the day. Following Kabosu’s passing, NEIRO has quickly gained popularity, with a nearly 25% rise in the last 24 hours. CoinGecko reports that NEIRO saw a trading volume of $38 million, and its market cap stands at $166 million.

3- Brett (BRETT)

Launched on Coinbase’s layer-2 blockchain, Base, Brett (BRETT) quickly went viral and became one of the top-performing altcoins of the day, with a 17% increase in the last 24 hours. According to CoinGecko, BRETT recorded a trading volume of $48 million, with a market capitalization of $900 million.

4- Mog Coin (MOG)

Mog Coin (MOG), a popular memecoin on the Ethereum blockchain, saw a 14% increase in the last 24 hours. CoinGecko data shows that MOG recorded a trading volume of $33 million, and its market cap is currently at $425 million.

5- Dogwifhat (WIF)

Dogwifhat (WIF), a memecoin that once dominated the crypto market frenzy on the Solana blockchain, remains among the top gainers of the day, with a 15% rise in the last 24 hours. CoinGecko reports that WIF saw a trading volume of $550 million, and its market capitalization has reached $1.6 billion.

The recent surge in the crypto market shows that altcoins, especially memecoins, are once again capturing the attention of investors.

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The post Top Altcoins of the Day as the Crypto Market Gains Momentum appeared first on Coin Engineer.

Bitcoin (BTC), the leading cryptocurrency, experienced a decline in line with the negative spot Bitcoin ETF data. The depth of BTC’s decline in the last 24 hours was 3.39%. With this decline, BTC fell from $64,580 to $62,390.

The negative outlook in spot Bitcoin ETF data also affected altcoins. The outflow of money from altcoins continued.

Despite the negative outlook of the crypto market, some altcoins made their mark on the day with the gains they made in the last 24 hours. Here are five altcoins that have decoupled from BTC and remained strong despite the decline…

1- Golem (GLM)

Golem (GLM), an open-source blockchain that offers a decentralized computing network and a flexible platform for users, was the day’s biggest rising altcoin. GLM increased by 30.8% in the last 24 hours.

According to data obtained from CoinGecko, GLM coin had a trading volume of $68.3 million in the last 24 hours. GLM coin has a market capitalization of $498.22 million.

As of the time of writing the content, GLM coin is trading at $0.5078.

2- Helium Mobile (MOBILE)

Helium Mobile (MOBILE), which provides cellular connectivity service and opens the doors to decentralized communication thanks to its decentralized wireless communication infrastructure, was the second most rising altcoin of the day. MOBILE rose 24.9% in the last 24 hours.

According to data obtained from CoinGecko, MOBILE coin had a trading volume of $19.21 million in the last 24 hours. MOBILE coin has a market capitalization of $230.23 million.

As of the time of writing the content, MOBILE coin is trading at $0.002572.

3- LCX (LCX)

LCX (LCX), the native coin of a centralized platform that focuses on security tokens, token trading, and cryptocurrencies, was the third most rising altcoin of the day. LCX increased by 12.1% in the last 24 hours.

According to data obtained from CoinGecko, LCX coin had a trading volume of $2.77 million in the last 24 hours. LCX coin has a market capitalization of $246 million.

As of the time of writing the content, LCX coin is trading at $0.31350.

4- aelf (ELF)

aelf (ELF), a blockchain initiative focused on decentralized cloud systems and transaction networks, was the fourth most rising altcoin of the day. ELF increased by 11.1% in the last 24 hours.

According to data obtained from CoinGecko, ELF coin had a trading volume of $27.67 million in the last 24 hours. ELF coin has a market capitalization of $467.9 million.

As of the time of writing the content, ELF coin is trading at $0.6477.

5- Popcat (POPCAT)

Popcat (POPCAT), one of the newest memecoins to emerge on the Solana network and has quickly managed to build a community, was the fifth most rising altcoin of the day. POPCAT increased by 6.7% in the last 24 hours.

According to data obtained from CoinGecko, POPCAT coin had a trading volume of $123.36 million in the last 24 hours. POPCAT coin has a market capitalization of $443.17 million.

As of the time of writing the content, POPCAT coin is trading at $0.4470.

The post These 5 Altcoins Stood Strong Despite the Decline appeared first on Coin Engineer.