LAB price jumped 67% in 24 hours to a record $16.24 on June 1. The surge pushed the token’s market cap above $4.66 billion as locked holders watched gains they could not realize.
The token traded at $14.51 with $223 million in volume. Vesting schedules continue to bind most early investors as critics flag insider advantages.
A Low-Float LAB Price Rally on Thin Real Liquidity
LAB’s circulating supply sits near 312 million tokens, roughly 31% of the one billion maximum. The remaining share covers team, investor, public sale, and ecosystem allocations subject to cliffs and linear vesting.
The price climbed 240% in seven days and 656% in 30 days, according to Coingecko data. LAB now ranks 25th by market cap with a fully diluted valuation near $14.9 billion.
Thin order books make even unlocked sells costly, a pattern documented across recent token unlock events.
Whales testing exits have triggered double-digit drawdowns on intraday timeframes.
Why Locked Holders Cannot Book Profits
Public sale participants, team members, and early backers cannot move their balances during cliff and vesting windows. The foundation has pushed certain unlocks back to extend the rally.
Some early investors have reportedly tried to offload allocations via OTC deals at discounts near 90%, with the conditions imposing short additional lock periods.
The pattern echoes earlier low-float token collapses where insider OTC activity preceded steep drawdowns.
“Traders are sitting on locked allocations with millions in paper profit, trying to hedge, and still getting liquidated. I heard the first unlocks start around July/August,” one trader voiced the frustration in a post, as hedging attempts fail to protect all locked positions.
ZachXBT’s Allegations Shadow the Rally
Meanwhile, blockchain investigator ZachXBT alleges opaque distribution and unilateral vesting changes behind LAB’s run.
He estimates insiders hold over 95% of the float through OTC, private sale, airdrop, and team wallets.
“An investigation into the opaque private loans/OTC, unilateral vesting changes, market maker coordination, unknown float, and >95% supply control behind LAB’s recent pump to $6B FDV,” he stated recently.
LAB supporters point to platform usage on BNB Chain, Solana, and Ethereum. They cite a recent mobile app release and a rewards program rally.
Proponents argue revenue sharing and buybacks justify the valuation.
Still, the dispute echoes broader concerns about insider trading allegations at new listings. A 2024 study flagged insider activity in over half of post-2021 exchange debuts.
Markets must watch the July and August unlock windows. Locked balances reaching the market in size will decide a key question.
Today’s record either reflects real demand or a temporary supply squeeze.