Key takeaways
- The LAB token fell 90% in 48 hours, wiping out billions in market capitalization.
- ZachXBT criticized major centralized exchanges for failing to stop the July manipulation.
- Investors have strongly avoided trading LAB, as the team token unlock is scheduled for later in July 2026.
LAB Trade blames “big market players”
LAB, the native token of multi-chain trading platform LAB Trade, suffered a catastrophic collapse this week, plunging from just over $7 to $1.25 on Wednesday, a staggering 80% drop in less than 24 hours. This crash follows an equally brutal sell-off on Tuesday, which saw the token fall by almost $17. In total, LAB erased almost 90% of its value in just 48 hours.
The financial fallout was rapid: a market capitalization that topped $5 billion Tuesday morning evaporated to just $390 million by 3:30 p.m. EST Wednesday. The free fall prompted the LAB Trade team to respond to the panic on
“While market activity today is disappointing, our product roadmap and long-term direction remain unchanged. We are seeing significant selling pressure from large market participants. Several independent trading firms also hold significant positions in LAB that are not affiliated with our team. We are working closely with our liquidity partners and continue to monitor market conditions,” the team said on X.
With this crash, LAB joins a notorious lineup of volatile tokens, such as RAVE, RIVER and SIREN. Each of these projects has experienced dazzling climbs followed by near-instant wipes, sparking numerous “pump and dump” allegations against their respective teams and shadowy distribution networks.
Crypto Sleuth denounces centralized exchanges
Prominent channel sleuth ZachXBT, who previously reported suspicious insider lending and coordination among market makers in May, blasted a major centralized exchanges ( CEX) for not having protected individual investors. Take X, ZachXBT critical lack of proactive intervention:
“It is disappointing to see that no action was taken earlier by Binance, Bitget and Gate to prevent it. CEX If this were not taken into account, the profits of the price manipulating accounts would be distributed minimally to users. Unlocks for investors were expected to begin later this month, however, several late vesting changes have occurred in the past.
ZachXBT reiterated his previous warnings that insiders effectively controlled all circulating supply, allowing market makers to orchestrate extreme price manipulation on major exchanges. His final advice to the community was blunt: avoid trading LAB under any circumstances.
