Deep Dive
1. BTX Capital Manipulation Exposed (15 November 2025)
Overview: On-chain researcher @SpecterAnalyst traced a $25M market manipulation scheme to BTX Capital and founder Vanessa Cao. On 12 November, 26 wallets placed synchronized buy walls at $0.21, lured traders into leveraged longs, then abruptly withdrew liquidity. This caused $4.9M in losses for Hyperliquid’s liquidity pool and $4M in collateral damage.
What this means: The event is bearish for POPCAT’s credibility, revealing vulnerabilities in low-cap meme coins to orchestrated attacks. BTX Capital’s subsequent deletion of social media posts amplified skepticism about exchange safeguards. (NullTX)
2. Hyperliquid HLP Vault Loses $4.9M (13 November 2025)
Overview: A trader split $3M across 19 wallets to artificially inflate POPCAT’s price on Hyperliquid, then collapsed it by removing buy orders. The resulting $63M in liquidations forced Hyperliquid’s community-owned vault to absorb $4.9M in bad debt.
What this means: This highlights systemic risks in decentralized perpetual platforms offering high leverage on volatile assets. While POPCAT’s price dropped 43% post-event, the incident sparked debates about DEX risk management. (Coincu)
3. Whale Accumulation Spotted (27 November 2025)
Overview: Despite recent turmoil, whale tracking service @whaleooor reported significant POPCAT purchases by large holders in late November. This coincided with the token stabilizing near $0.10 after a 58% 90-day decline.
What this means: While speculative, this could signal contrarian bets on a meme coin rebound. However, with 61.9% of supply held by smaller wallets, concentrated buying may face resistance.
Conclusion
POPCAT’s narrative has shifted from meme-driven hype to a cautionary tale about market integrity. While whale activity hints at potential bottom-fishing, the token faces an uphill battle to restore trust. Will Solana’s meme coin ecosystem implement safeguards against future manipulation, or will volatility remain its defining trait?