A large sell order from an address related to 1inch triggered a rapid price fluctuation of 1INCH within a short period, once again exposing the potential risks of low liquidity and vulnerability to single trades in the altcoin market.
(Background recap: The old altcoin script is outdated; let’s interpret the new market structure)
(Additional context: Bitcoin frenzy, but altcoins are being buried: a two-year bull market review—why are your assets shrinking?)

Table of Contents

• On-chain data reveals: 14 million 1INCH tokens liquidated in one go
• Market cap not low, but depth insufficient—liquidity issues emerge
• Beyond short-term shocks, investors should focus more on fundamentals

Decentralized trading aggregator 1inch (1INCH) experienced significant price volatility. A large sell-off from an address associated with project investors or the team quickly shattered market confidence, causing the token price to plummet and highlighting structural issues in the current crypto market—many altcoins suffer from insufficient liquidity and are easily impacted by single trades.

On-chain Data Reveals: 14 Million 1INCH Tokens Liquidated in One Go

According to on-chain analyst EmberCN’s monitoring data, an address believed to be linked to 1inch project investors or the team sold approximately 14 million 1INCH tokens on the Ethereum network on January 27, 2026, worth about $1.83 million in total.

A 1inch investor/team address just liquidated 14 million $1INCH ($1.83 million) on-chain, causing a 7% drop in $1INCH ($0.1385→$0.129).
This address obtained 15 million 1INCH through vesting unlocks a year ago, sold 1 million at $0.17 seven months ago, and just liquidated the remaining 14 million at $0.13. … pic.twitter.com/s5EvN6S8zn
— Ember (@EmberCN) January 27, 2026

Although this sell-off did not reach the tens of millions of dollars level, its impact on the market was quite evident, indicating that 1INCH’s market absorption capacity under current conditions is relatively limited.

Market Cap Not Low, But Depth Insufficient—Liquidity Issues Emerge

EmberCN pointed out that before the large sell order appeared, the price of 1INCH was around $0.1385; after the sell-off, it dropped sharply by about 7%, reaching a low of $0.129.

However, it is noteworthy that as a mainstream DeFi token with a circulating market cap of approximately $180 million, 1INCH’s order book depth is clearly insufficient. A sell order of less than $2 million can trigger such intense price swings, highlighting weak market absorption.

EmberCN added that, for example, on Binance, the 1INCH/USDT trading pair has a 24-hour total trading volume of about $1.5 million, with over $1.16 million coming from arbitrage bots rapidly front-running the sell; the natural trading volume by regular investors is only about $340,000. This shows that current market liquidity heavily depends on bot trading, with actual buy-side activity relatively limited.

Now altcoin liquidity is so poor: 1INCH, with a circulating market cap of $180 million, a sell of less than $2 million directly drops 7% (the decline has already expanded to -13%).
Trading volume is also pitiful; on Binance, the 24-hour trading volume for 1INCH/USDT is $1.5 million, with $1.16 million from arbitrage bots… https://t.co/9vUfDvXNlP pic.twitter.com/cIl0XwAbbA
— Ember (@EmberCN) January 27, 2026

Beyond Short-term Shocks, Investors Should Focus More on Fundamentals

Overall, although this large liquidation of 1INCH caused a short-term price impact, its significance goes beyond the event itself, reflecting the widespread liquidity risks in the current altcoin market. For investors, besides monitoring price movements, it is also important to keep an eye on large on-chain transfers, project fundamentals, and overall market sentiment changes.