Kinto Token Plummets: Is It an Exploit, or Just Bad Timing? You Decide!

by

The Kinto (K) token, that ever-hopeful glimmer in the world of modular decentralized exchanges (DEX), has experienced a dramatic and catastrophic fall from grace. It dropped nearly 92% in 24 hours, an event that has shocked the crypto community to its very core, or at least, to the closest available Ethereum node. This unfortunate turn of events comes after Kinto confirmed an off-chain exploit tied to its Arbitrum deployment. Exciting stuff, right?

The price of Kinto’s native token crashed to a new all-time low of $0.5114 on July 10th, igniting a spectacular wave of panic, finger-pointing, and more accusations of a “rug pull” than a backyard barbecue in crypto circles.

Investor Unlock Flood or Exploit? Pick Your Poison!

In a move that had all the subtlety of a bull in a China shop, the official Kinto X account confirmed the exploit, stating:

“An exploit has happened OFF the Kinto network impacting the $K token deployment in Arbitrum.”

Meanwhile, the Kinto team, ever the professionals, assured everyone that their funds in Kinto wallets and bridge vaults remained secure. Phew, that’s a relief, isn’t it? But no worries, because a thorough investigation is underway, assisted by security firms Seal 911, Hypernative, Venn, and Zeroshadow. Sounds like a superhero squad for your crypto, right?

But just as things were getting suspiciously convenient, some crypto sleuths, with all the grace of Sherlock Holmes on a caffeine binge, pointed out another possibility. A July 1st token unlock released a whopping 73.6%, or 1.86 million of investor tokens, flooding the market like a tidal wave of tokens ready to be dumped. As pointed out by X user Yuujiro, those investors likely jumped in at around $10. Talk about a sell-off disaster waiting to happen.

Crypto analyst HumzyTrades crunched the numbers and concluded that around $15 million worth of K tokens were unlocked at the end of June. Guess what? Those early investors appeared to have timed their sell-off with the market’s brief moment of sunshine.

“Guess they waited for the markets to turn green & they dumped!”

This beautiful storm of exploit announcements and massive token unlocks created the perfect scenario for panic selling. Within hours, the price of K crashed from a lofty $8.12 to under $1, with a series of brief, heartbreaking rebounds that promptly vanished. It was like watching a balloon slowly deflate in front of your eyes.

One user, Ichiro Kenz, managed to track the mind-boggling price swings in real time:

“I saw the price jump to $3.33 – 46.95% and then back to $0.782 – 87.55%,” he posted on X. “I don’t know who’s playing with this.” Well, Ichiro, I think the real question is: Are *you* playing with this?

As of this writing, the token had been obliterated, losing a staggering 91.9% of its value, landing at $0.5114. It’s also been a rough three months for K, with losses of 85.3%, and don’t even get started on the past 30 days or the last week. Ouch.

But fear not, for amid the wreckage, Kinto still managed to record a trading volume of nearly $2.8 million, while its market cap evaporated like water in the Sahara, down to a pitiful $925,886. The poor thing.

The Fallout and Security Concerns (Not the Fun Kind)

Following this truly chaotic breach, the crypto community had a field day. HumzyTrades and influencer 0xPain were quick to declare, “Kinto rugged” and call it a “scam.” Oh, the drama. Others joined the chorus, with one user dramatically declaring, “Over 70% down in a market where every dogsh*t is green… my worst investment ever.” Because, of course, it’s always helpful to add a touch of melodrama in the world of crypto.

Trader Dan the Man, ever the voice of reason, demanded immediate accountability from the Kinto team: “We demand that the Kinto team provide an immediate and detailed explanation.” Well, Dan, good luck with that. Others, too, voiced their frustration, pointing out the lack of communication and the distinct absence of any viable contingency plans. Classic move.

And, of course, this little debacle comes amid a broader crypto security nightmare. A report from CertiK released on July 5th revealed that crypto projects lost a staggering $620 million in Q2 2025. To make matters worse, Ethereum-based ecosystems, like Arbitrum, have proven to be especially vulnerable to exploits. So, yeah, maybe not the best time for Kinto to make headlines.

Read More

2025-07-10 23:11