ALPACA Token’s Shocking Ride: Short Squeeze, Issuance Freeze, and Looming Delisting

The ALPACA token unexpectedly soared by over 650% in just a few days after Binance announced its delisting. This surge, driven by a short squeeze and a temporary halt in new token issuance, defied the usual market predictions.

On April 24, 2025, Binance declared the delisting of all spot trading pairs involving ALPACA by May 2, 2025. Normally, such news leads to a price decline due to panic selling, but ALPACA’s price movement surprised many.

TradingView data revealed that ALPACA jumped from $0.029 to above $0.21 in 48 hours, with trading volume spiking, indicating increased investor activity. However, by April 29, the trend shifted drastically, with ALPACA plummeting by 70% in three hours to $0.066, erasing most of its earlier gains.

The sudden price surge was mainly attributed to a “short squeeze,” where traders who had bet on ALPACA’s decline were forced to buy back tokens to cover their positions, amplifying buying pressure. Additionally, Alpaca Finance’s decision to halt issuing more ALPACA tokens tightened supply and boosted prices further.

Lessons can be drawn from the VOXEL case, where a similar pump occurred after delisting news, but manipulative market behavior led to legal action by Bitget. While ALPACA has seen rapid growth, risks for investors are high due to reduced liquidity post-delisting.

Binance will proceed with delisting ALPACA/USDT, ALPACA/BTC, ALPACA/BNB, and ALPACA/BUSD trading pairs at 03:00 UTC on May 2, 2025. The ALPACA incident highlights both the potential gains and risks associated with distressed tokens and the dangers of chasing short-term price spikes.