Kadena's Downfall: Insider Trading Claims and Fabricated Success Surface After KDA Plummets
The cryptocurrency world reeled this week following the abrupt shutdown announcement from Kadena, a once-promising blockchain project. The news triggered a dramatic market reaction, with the KDA token's price plummeting by over 60% in a matter of hours. This precipitous crash quickly drew the attention of crypto analysts, who, in turn, unleashed a series of shocking revelations suggesting internal misconduct and misrepresentation behind the project's sudden demise.
The Initial Collapse and Damning Allegations
Just a day after KDA's dramatic price freefall, crypto analyst Lovrin took to social media platform X to expose a purported scheme involving Kadena employees. Allegations surfaced that several team members engaged in shorting KDA tokens with leverage moments before the official shutdown announcement, reportedly netting millions in profit. The exposé further suggested that various crypto exchanges inadvertently facilitated these trades, painting a grim picture of coordinated internal manipulation that capitalized on the project's impending closure.
Unraveling the Web of Deception
Further compounding Kadena's troubles, crypto market commentator @Katexbt brought forth additional accusations, casting a shadow over the project's financial integrity and operational legitimacy. It was claimed that Kadena founders, Stuart Popejoy and Will Martino, were reportedly sued by family members over a personal loan used to fund the venture, highlighting a lack of external financial transparency. Katexbt also asserted that the Kadena blockchain, despite boasting a high throughput of 480,000 transactions per second, was effectively non-functional, lacking genuine users or active wallets. Allegations extended to exaggerated or fabricated partnerships and the prioritizing of token sales for real money through a "KOL agency" over actual marketing expenditures. Moreover, whispers of a hidden lawsuit against the project and an alleged scheme involving former CEO Francesco Melpignano to extract and sell substantial amounts of KDA for an estimated $20 million to $80 million in profit added layers to the scandal.
Kadena's Farewell and a Decentralized Promise
Amidst the swirling controversy, Kadena issued a public statement confirming the cessation of all business operations. The team attributed this drastic measure to prevailing market volatility and unfavorable conditions. Despite the corporate wind-down, Kadena assured its community that the underlying blockchain would continue to operate independently under a decentralized model, sustained by a network of independent miners. The statement also provided details on the future of the KDA token, noting that approximately 566 million KDA are still designated for mining rewards through 2139, with an additional 83.7 million tokens scheduled to unlock by November 2029.
