The hacker behind the massive WazirX exploit has been offloading a significant chunk of their stolen crypto, impacting some projects more than others. Analysts at blockchain analytics firm Nansen identified the hacker, believed to be a North Korean group, as the biggest seller of Uniswap (UNI) over the past week, with dumps totaling over $850,000. Similar selling sprees were observed for Chainlink (LINK) and The Sandbox (SAND), exceeding $2.7 million and $1.6 million, respectively.
Despite the hacker’s activity, major tokens like Chainlink and The Sandbox have shown resilience. CoinMarketCap data reveals that both projects have witnessed price gains in the last week, with Chainlink up 2.57% and The Sandbox rising 3.61%. Uniswap, however, wasn’t as fortunate. The token has been trading in the red for most of the past week, with an overall loss of 6.1%—a trend predating the hack.
The story takes a sharper turn for Push Protocol (PUSH). Unlike the aforementioned projects, PUSH has borne the brunt of the hacker’s selling pressure. Data from Nansen shows the hacker offloaded over $529,000 worth of PUSH in a single day, dwarfing the sales of any other seller. This massive sell-off, coupled with PUSH’s low liquidity (market cap under $6.2 million, daily volume under $4.9 million), has resulted in a significant price drop. PUSH has plummeted 24% over the past week and a staggering 32% in the last 24 hours.
The contrasting impact of these projects highlights the critical role of liquidity in the cryptocurrency market. Established tokens like Chainlink and Uniswap, with high market caps and trading volumes, can absorb sizable sell orders without major price fluctuations. Conversely, smaller projects like Push Protocol, lacking deep liquidity pools, are highly susceptible to price manipulation, especially when faced with large-scale selling.
As the WazirX hacker continues to liquidate their stolen funds, the cryptocurrency market will likely witness further volatility, particularly for less liquid tokens. Investors and traders are advised to closely monitor project liquidity and be cautious when dealing with smaller, less established cryptocurrencies.
