When we look closely at LaunchCoin’s market structure, it becomes clear that constrained liquidity is fueling extreme volatility. On the Solana chain, only about $1.8 million sits in the main liquidity pool despite an average daily trading volume near $74 million, and just $4.2 million is locked against a market cap exceeding $230 million. This disparity means that even moderately sized trades can cause steep price swings, as low liquidity amplifies slippage and leaves the order book dangerously thin.
Compounding the problem, a small number of whales controls roughly 77% of the circulating supply, while retail investors holding less than $10,000 together own undero1%. These large holders have quietly accumulated tokens across centralized exchanges such as XT.com and CoinEx, as well as on Solana-based DEXs like Raydium and Orca, effectively sidelining smaller traders. With so much supply in a few wallets, any decision by a whale to buy or sell can dramatically tilt market sentiment and price direction.
The derivatives market has its own distortions. Open interest in LaunchCoin perpetual futures has climbed steadily, driven by traders willing to pay extraordinarily high funding rates, often approaching 200% annualized, to maintain long positions. Short interest is nearly nonexistent because the cost of holding a bearish position is prohibitive, so most leverage flows into bullish bets. This skew leaves the futures market primed for a sudden unwinding if sentiment shifts, and it also reinforces the price actions driven by the underlying spot liquidity.
On May 16, these vulnerabilities were laid bare when a whale known by the nickname “pow” sold 14 million LaunchCoin for 16,071 SOL (about $2.76 million) at roughly $0.197 per token. The sale triggered a swift 4.7% price drop to $0.188 and spiked trading volume by 12%, underlining how fragile low-liquidity pools can be. Technically, LaunchCoin is now consolidating within a symmetrical triangle around $0.21. Although the 50-day simple moving average at $0.133 remains above the 200-day average at $0.036, suggesting a broader bullish trend, the relative strength index hovers near neutral, meaning that direction is anyone’s guess until either fresh buying or a fresh round of selling breaks the pattern.
Taken together, these factors suggest that the next half-dozen tokens launched in the LaunchCoin ecosystem are likely to mirror this pump-and-dump dynamic. They will probably debut with minimal liquidity relative to their touted market caps, see early accumulation by whales at the expense of retail participants, attract leveraged long positions in perpetual markets, and ultimately suffer swift sell-offs once large holders decide to take profits. Unless project teams significantly deepen liquidity pools and broaden token distribution, traders should brace for high slippage, rapid drawdowns, and technical breakouts that quickly reverse into breakdowns.
