1inch team involved in dump controversy, behind millions of dollars in fund movements is actually a "wave trading master"

Author: Ethan, Odaily Planet Daily

Large-scale sell-off labeled as “1inch Team” once again sparks criticism. Recently, on the on-chain data platform ARKHAM, three wallets marked as “1inch Team” collectively sold 36.36 million 1INCH tokens, worth $5.04 million. According to OKX market data, as a result, the price of the 1INCH token dropped sharply by 16.7% to $0.1155, currently trading at $0.1164. Amid this sell-off, a question quickly emerged in the market: Is this really the project team dumping their own tokens? From the perspective of this particular sell, the outcome is not ideal. On-chain data shows that the 1INCH tokens were mainly transferred to related addresses in late November 2024. Based on the price at that time, the cost was approximately $0.42, corresponding to a value of about $15.27 million. Before this sell, the 1INCH price had already fallen to around $0.14. Considering slippage caused by the large capital involved during the sell process, the actual loss on this position could exceed $10 million.

Comparison: Past trading behavior of the 1inch Team Previously, the 1inch Team’s investment fund engaged in multiple rounds of on-chain operations during market fluctuations, which the market viewed as the actions of a “professional trading team.” As early as February to April, the 1inch Team’s investment fund began continuously accumulating 1INCH at low prices. At that time, market sentiment had not yet recovered, and 1INCH hovered around $0.2. During this period, the team invested approximately $6.648 million, buying 33.19 million 1INCH tokens at an average cost of about $0.2. However, this buying did not trigger significant price movements. The market truly took notice during a concentrated accumulation in early July. From July 6 to 9, the 1inch Team’s investment fund made additional purchases, injecting about $4.4 million in just a few days, acquiring 22.99 million 1INCH tokens. As buying pressure continued, the 1INCH price rose from around $0.18 to $0.206, a stage gain of about 14%. During this period, the team transferred 3 million USDC to Binance and gradually withdrew 1INCH tokens to their own addresses. The funds were not fully exhausted at once; they continued to buy in anticipation of better timing. After July 10, the operation pace accelerated significantly. On the afternoon of July 10, the team bought another 4.12 million 1INCH for about $880,000, while adding 2 million USDT to Binance for future trades. On the evening of July 11, on-chain monitoring indicated that the team seemingly bought 11.81 million 1INCH at a higher price range, with the transaction price rising to around $0.28. By then, the address’s holdings increased to 83.97 million 1INCH, with a paper value exceeding $23 million. On July 13, the team continued to withdraw 6.334 million 1INCH from Binance. If we trace back to early February, the 1inch Team’s investment fund had cumulatively invested about $13.64 million, buying 55.85 million 1INCH at an average cost of approximately $0.244. With the 1INCH price surging above $0.39 in mid-July, this position was already in profit by several million dollars. It’s worth noting that the team is not “just buying and not selling.” On the evening of July 13, they began to realize some gains by selling about 0.904 million 1INCH at $0.33, netting $298,000. Earlier, they had also sold some 1INCH in batches at around $0.28. At the same time, the team was also taking profits on another key position: ETH, which they bought at an average price of $2,577 in February, had started to be sold in batches above $4,200, realizing millions of dollars in profit just from the ETH holdings. On August 11, according to on-chain analyst Yu Jin’s monitoring, the 1inch Team’s investment fund began to realize some of its earlier positions on-chain. Data shows they sold 5,000 ETH at an average price of $4,215, receiving 21.07 million USDC; simultaneously, they sold 6.45 million 1INCH at an average of $0.28, receiving about 1.8 million USDC. In terms of cost basis, the ETH was bought by the 1inch Team in February at an average of about $2,577, while the 1INCH was mainly accumulated in July at an average of about $0.253. Based solely on the ETH and 1INCH positions sold this time, the 1inch Team’s investment fund has realized approximately $8.36 million in paper gains.

Looking further back, the 1inch Team’s “contrarian buying and trend-following selling” strategy on BTC is also clear. Between February and March this year, during BTC’s retracement, they bought 160.8 WBTC at an average price of about $88,000, and completed their exit when BTC approached $100,000 again in May, realizing nearly $1 million in total gains. Considering the combined on-chain activity across BTC, ETH, and 1INCH, the 1inch Team’s investment fund’s operations resemble a well-practiced capital strategy: building positions during market corrections, increasing holdings during upward trends, and gradually realizing profits when prices reach high levels. But this time, was it really them operating? It’s important to point out that when comparing the large sell-off near $0.14 with the 1inch Team’s past on-chain operations, if this sell was indeed directly led by the team, its execution method would significantly deviate from their usual trading logic. Whether in BTC, ETH, or 1INCH, the team’s more common approach is to gradually realize profits after confirming a trend, rather than concentrated selling in low-liquidity zones. Therefore, some market participants are beginning to question: Is this “1inch Team” labeled sell truly controlled by the team or their directly controlled wallets? Subsequently, the official 1inch responded to the controversy. In their statement, they explicitly stated that this sell did not occur in any wallets controlled by the 1inch Team, entity, or multisig vault, and the team cannot interfere with third-party asset allocations and trading decisions. In other words, the on-chain label does not equate to actual control. Judging by the execution pace and price range, this sell is more likely from a third-party holder that has already detached from project control, rather than a shift in the team’s own trading logic. In a phase of limited liquidity, a single large sell-off being quickly equated with “the team dumping” is an overly simplistic interpretation. It overlooks the natural disconnect between address labels and actual control after long-term token circulation. Returning to 1inch itself. The official statement emphasizes that this market fluctuation has not changed its core business or long-term direction. Since 2019, 1inch has facilitated nearly $800 billion in cumulative trading volume, maintaining daily trading volumes of hundreds of millions of dollars even during market downturns. The team also announced plans to review the tokenomics model this year to enhance overall resilience during periods of low liquidity and downtrends. Against this backdrop, the discussion about whether the “1inch Team is dumping” is more a misinterpretation amplified by on-chain labels, liquidity environment, and sentiment analysis. However, even if it is ultimately proven to be a misinterpretation, this sell still caused a tangible secondary impact on the already weakening 1INCH price. Since the peak of $6 in the previous cycle, 1INCH has experienced a long-term downtrend, now hovering around $0.11.

In such a trend, the market clearly has no sufficient buffer to absorb any sudden sell signals. These amplified sell events often end up impacting the weakest risk-tolerant participants—retail investors.