1inch team involved in dump controversy, behind the multi-million dollar fund movement is actually a "swing trading master"

Author: Ethan, Odaily Planet Daily

Large sell-offs marked as “1inch Team” have once again sparked criticism.

Recently, on-chain data platform ARKHAM showed that three wallets labeled as “1inch Team” collectively sold 36.36 million 1INCH tokens, worth approximately $5.04 million. According to OKX market data, influenced by this, the price of the 1INCH token dropped sharply by 16.7% to $0.1155, currently trading at $0.1164. A question quickly arose in the market regarding this sell-off: Is it really the project team themselves dumping?

From the perspective of this sell alone, the outcome is not ideal. On-chain data indicates that the aforementioned 1INCH tokens were mainly transferred to related addresses in late November 2024. Based on the price at that time, the cost was roughly around $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 volume involved in the sell, the actual loss on this position could exceed $10 million.

Reference comparison: 1inch Team’s past trading style

Previously, the on-chain operations of the 1inch Team’s investment fund during multiple market fluctuations have been viewed by the market as indicative of a “professional trading team.”

As early as February to April, the 1inch Team’s investment fund began 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 round of buying did not cause significant price fluctuations. The market only 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 increase of about 14%. During this period, the team transferred 3 million USDC to Binance and gradually withdrew 1INCH to their own addresses. The funds were not used all at once, possibly waiting for the right moment, and continued buying.

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 subsequent trades. On the evening of July 11, on-chain monitoring showed 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.

Tracing 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 “buy-only.” On the evening of July 13, they began to realize some gains, selling about 0.904 million 1INCH at $0.33 for $298,000. Earlier, they had also sold some 1INCH in batches at around $0.28.

Meanwhile, the team also took profits on another significant position: ETH bought at an average price of $2,577 in February has begun to be sold in batches above $4,200, with the ETH position alone realizing profits of over a million dollars.

On August 11, according to on-chain analyst Yu Yan monitoring, the 1inch Team’s investment fund started to realize some of its earlier positions. 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 position was bought 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 on the ETH and 1INCH positions sold this time, the 1inch Team’s investment fund has realized a paper profit of approximately $8.36 million.

Looking further back, the 1inch Team’s “contrarian buying and trend-following selling” approach on BTC is also clear. Between February and March this year, during BTC’s correction, they bought 160.8 WBTC at an average price of about $88,000, and completed liquidation when BTC approached the $100,000 mark in May, realizing nearly $1 million in total profit.

Considering the combined clues from BTC, ETH, and 1INCH, the on-chain operations of the 1inch Team’s investment fund 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, are they really the ones operating?

It should be pointed out that when comparing the recent 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, then its execution method itself would be a clear deviation from their previous trading logic. In their historical operations on BTC, ETH, and 1INCH, the team more often tends to realize profits in batches after trend confirmation, rather than dumping in a low-liquidity zone all at once.

Therefore, some market participants have begun to question: is the sell-off marked as “1inch Team” really controlled by the team or their directly controlled wallets?

Subsequently, the official 1inch responded to the controversy. Their statement clarified that the recent sell was not conducted from 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 labels indicating connections do not equate to actual control. Judging by the execution pace and price range, this sell is more likely from third-party holders who are no longer under project control, rather than a shift in the 1inch Team’s own trading logic.

In a phase with limited liquidity, a single large sell-off being quickly equated with “the team dumping” is an overly simplified interpretation. It overlooks the natural disconnect between address labels and actual control after tokens have been in circulation for a long time.

Returning to 1inch itself. The official statement emphasizes that this market fluctuation does not change its core business or long-term direction. Since 2019, 1inch has facilitated nearly $800 billion in total trading volume, maintaining several hundred million dollars in daily trading volume even during market downturns. The team also announced plans to review the tokenomics model this year to enhance overall resilience during low liquidity and downward cycles. Against this background, 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 ultimately proven to be a misunderstanding, this sell-off still caused a secondary impact on the already weakening 1INCH price. Since the last cycle’s high of $6, 1INCH has experienced a prolonged downtrend, now hovering around $0.11.

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