Multiple altcoins suddenly crash on Binance, ACT loses 50% in minutes

A basket of altcoins crashed on Binance earlier today, despite an uptick in the broader cryptocurrency market. Data showed tokens like Solana memecoin Act 1 The Prophecy (ACT), decentralized finance social trading platform DeXe (DEXE) and on-chain DeFi liquidity network dForce (DF) declined between 20% and 50% within minutes.Other tokens — like KAVA, HIPPO, BANANAS31, LUMIA, TST and QUICK — also fell significantly.ACT’s crash may be correlated to changes on Binance’s leverage-trading platform. The centralized crypto exchange announced margin adjustments to perpetual contracts for ACT and five other altcoins. However, the other tokens listed in the updates did not exhibit similarly sharp price declines — leaving observers speculating on the cause.Some users on social media guessed that the new ACT perp contract's margin on Binance triggered an unexpected squeeze on a market maker’s positions. The market maker’s automated trading bot might have liquidated other tokens to hedge losses, if that were the case. Additionally, The OnchainData Nerd, citing Arkham data, said market maker Wintermute sold off a massive amount of ACT tokens on April 1.ACT was a major player in last year’s AI memecoin craze on Solana, merging the viral memecoin mania with artificial intelligence-driven hype for an ecosystem that allowed humans and bots to interact. The token climbed to over $890 million in market capitalization at its peak and was one of the few AI memecoins listed by Binance. ACT’s market cap has crashed over 85% since its zenith and floated around $95 million as of writing, per The Block's price data.Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.