TLDR
- ZKJ token crashed 91% to $0.33 from nearly $2 in 24 hours due to abnormal on-chain transactions
- Crisis triggered by large holders removing tokens from ZKJ/KOGE trading pair causing liquidity shortage
- KOGE token also fell from $62 to $24 as the two tokens share liquidity pools
- Binance changed Alpha Points program rules to exclude trades between Alpha tokens starting June 17
- 15.5 million ZKJ tokens scheduled to unlock on June 19 could add more selling pressure
Polyhedra Network’s ZKJ token experienced a severe price collapse on June 15-16, falling 91% from nearly $2 to $0.33 in a 24-hour period. The crash wiped out nearly $500 million in market value.
The crisis began with what Polyhedra described as “abnormal on-chain transactions” involving the ZKJ/KOGE trading pair. KOGE is a governance token for BNB48 Club in the Binance ecosystem.
According to Polyhedra’s statement, large holders started converting substantial amounts of KOGE into ZKJ after the KOGE/USDT pool was drained. This forced investors to move their funds to the ZKJ/USDT pool, which became overloaded.
Dear Polyhedra community — we want to emphasize that the fundamentals of Polyhedra remain strong, both in our technology and in the incredible support from our community. We’re continuing to build and push forward as planned.
Today’s price drop was caused by a series of abnormal…— Polyhedra (@PolyhedraZK) June 15, 2025
The two tokens share liquidity pools and have been promoted through Binance’s Alpha Points program. This close trading relationship meant that problems with one token quickly spread to the other.
On-chain data shows several large wallets were farming Alpha Points before the crash occurred. One wallet withdrew over $3.7 million in KOGE and $530,000 in ZKJ.
Two other wallets pulled nearly $5 million combined from the system. These large withdrawals created what Binance called a “liquidation cascade” that accelerated the price decline.
Timeline of the Collapse
The ZKJ token first fell 60% from $1.92 to $0.76 in a 90-minute window on June 15 at 2:32 am UTC. The token briefly recovered to $1.41 over the next 90 minutes before falling again.
Later on June 15 at about 9:25 pm UTC, ZKJ took another sharp drop from $0.77 to $0.32. The token has been trading flat around these levels since then.
KOGE experienced a similar pattern, dropping from $62 to $24 during the same period. The crash affected both tokens simultaneously due to their shared liquidity structure.
Both tokens were part of Binance’s Alpha Points system, which evaluates and rewards user engagement within the Binance Alpha ecosystem and Binance Wallet.
Market Response and Changes
Binance announced it would adjust the calculation rules of its Alpha Points program starting June 17. The exchange cited the need to ensure market fairness and stability while reducing systemic concentration risks.
“Starting from 00:00 UTC on June 17, 2025, the trading volume of trading pairs between Alpha tokens will no longer count towards Alpha Points calculation,” Binance stated.
The timing of the crash has raised additional concerns among investors. About 15.5 million ZKJ tokens are scheduled to unlock on June 19, which could add approximately $10 million in selling pressure to the already weakened market.
Some observers have linked the price fall to this upcoming token unlock, though major crypto analytics platforms have not confirmed these claims.
Polyhedra Network, which focuses on interoperability using zero-knowledge proofs, said it was “closely reviewing the situation” and would provide more information when available. The company maintains that its network’s core technology remains intact despite the token price collapse.
