Here's why Polyhedra (ZKJ) crashed over 80% in an hour

The price of Polyhedra Network’s native token, ZKJ, known for its focus on scalability, plunged over 80% on Sunday, wiping out nearly $100 million in long positions within an hour.

Before the crash, ZKJ was trading at $1.90. It then nosedived 83% to around $0.32 as of press time, marking one of the steepest single-day drops for any major cryptocurrency project this year. The sell-off slashed Polyhedra’s market cap to just $93.8 million, an 83.7% collapse.

How ZKJ crash unfolded

According to on-chain data, the crash was triggered by a series of coordinated moves involving several large wallets.

Liquidity was quietly drained from the ZKJ/$KOGE trading pairs in the hours before the event. Traders began swapping $KOGE for ZKJ, only to dump ZKJ back into the market immediately.

Six whale wallets were at the storm’s center, offloading over 5.23 million ZKJ for $9.66 million. The sudden liquidity exit and intense selling pressure tanked the price, triggering a wave of forced liquidations across trading platforms.

In total, more than $99 million in ZKJ long positions were wiped out, accounting for 81.3% of all crypto liquidations. At least six individual traders were liquidated for more than $1 million each.

Suggestions indicate the crash might have stemmed from a “perfect storm” of vulnerabilities, including front-running ahead of scheduled token unlocks, a mass exit by airdrop farmers cashing out, and widespread panic as the token’s price structure unraveled.

In the aftermath, members of the 48 Club DAO, the creators of $KOGE, blamed the meltdown on poor management. Outrage erupted across social media, with users demanding accountability and claiming they were “rugged from both sides.”

Further complicating the situation is a looming token unlock: 5.3% of ZKJ’s supply, worth an estimated $32 million, is set to be released in the coming days.

Featured image via Shutterstock