ALPACA Token Surges Despite Binance Delisting
Alpaca Finance’s ALPACA token defied expectations with a massive 1,100% price hike last week.This surge came despite Binance’s announcement to delist the token on May 2.
Binance made the delisting decision on April 24, citing low trading volume and lack of developer activity. The exchange will disable ALPACA spot trading pairs on May 2, with deposits and withdrawals already phased out.
Typically, tokens lose value after delisting news. Though, ALPACA’s price skyrocketed from $0.029 to a peak of $1.47, a 60x increase. it’s now trading at $0.53, down 40% in 24 hours but still up 1,100% over the week.
The rally seems driven by a short squeeze. Traders who bet against ALPACA were forced to buy back the token to cover losses when its price unexpectedly surged.This buying pressure pushed the price even higher.
Binance’s funding rate changes also played a role. The funding cap increased from ±2% to ±4%, and settlement intervals reduced from four hours to one hour. This made short selling more expensive and risky.
ALPACA’s supply tightened as the team suspended new token issuance and burned 35 million tokens,or 18.6% of the maximum supply. Some suspect market manipulation, with over $50 million in positions liquidated.
While the situation resembles the GameStop short squeeze of 2021,concerns remain about the token’s future after Binance’s final delisting.
