PIPPIN involved in insider trading? 50 mysterious wallets accumulating, Gate total supply fluctuates

Despite Solana’s poor performance, PIPPIN has thrived through derivative trading and strategic accumulation by organized entities. PIPPIN surged 556% in the past 30 days, with Bubblemaps on-chain forensics revealing that 50 related wallets purchased $19 million worth of PIPPIN, and another 26 addresses withdrew 44% of the total supply from the Gate exchange within two months.

Solana Meme Coins Crash While PIPPIN Soars Against the Trend

(Source: Blockworks)

The overall Solana meme coin economy is currently facing a liquidity crisis and a steep decline in trading volume, but PIPPIN has successfully decoupled from the industry’s downward trend. The “meme craze” that swept the globe at the start of this year on the Solana network has largely faded, replaced by a difficult consolidation phase. This divergence is highly pronounced, with PIPPIN moving in the opposite direction, thanks to leveraged derivative products, a surge in open interest, and on-chain forensic analysis indicating highly coordinated efforts to monopolize the token supply.

Over the past six months, Solana’s speculative market has gone through a brutal contraction. Data from Blockworks Research shows that meme assets now account for less than 10% of daily trading volume on Solana decentralized exchanges (DEXs), a cliff-like drop from the more than 70% dominance they held a year ago.

The catalyst for this exodus was a collapse in trust. A series of high-profile “rug pull” incidents—including the crashes of LIBRA and TRUMP tokens—severely dampened enthusiasm for new projects. As a result, liquidity dispersed, the number of active traders plummeted, spot market depth shrank, and participants became cautious and reluctant to take on new inventory.

Against this backdrop of speculative collapse, PIPPIN has become a magnet for the remaining speculative liquidity. As large amounts of capital exited the Solana meme coin market, the few projects still active were able to attract concentrated inflows. PIPPIN is one such beneficiary, no longer needing to compete for attention with hundreds of other meme coins, but instead becoming one of the few assets with ongoing active trading.

$3.19 Billion in Derivatives Volume Fuels Leverage Frenzy

(Source: Coinglass)

PIPPIN’s rise has not been driven purely by spot purchases, but rather by the massive expansion of leverage. Data from CoinGlass shows that on December 1, PIPPIN derivatives trading volume exceeded $3.19 billion. This figure far surpasses the volume of many mid-tier utility tokens, such as Hyperliquid’s HYPE and SUI, both of which are blockchain projects with real-world use cases and technological foundations.

The contrast between the $3.19 billion in derivatives volume and PIPPIN’s relatively small market cap is stark. It indicates that market participants are primarily speculating through futures and perpetual contracts, rather than direct spot purchases. Such leverage-driven rallies are highly fragile, as a price reversal could trigger mass liquidations of leveraged positions, accelerating a downturn.

Meanwhile, the token’s open interest has doubled to $160 million, suggesting traders are aggressively building positions. Open interest refers to the total value of all unsettled futures and perpetual contracts, and its rapid growth indicates more traders are establishing leveraged positions. When open interest rises alongside price, it typically means the bulls are dominating the market.

Three Key Features of the PIPPIN Derivatives Market

Abnormally High Trading Volume: $3.19 billion daily volume far exceeds market cap, indicating high speculation

Open Interest Doubled: $160 million OI shows traders are aggressively adding leveraged positions

Surpassing Utility Tokens: Trading volume exceeds projects like HYPE and SUI, which have real-world applications

This creates a self-reinforcing cycle where, as the overall industry contracts, the remaining capital concentrates in a handful of assets showing growth momentum. However, unlike previous broad-based rallies, this one is narrow and fragile, almost entirely sustained by futures market mechanisms rather than true grassroots participation.

50 Linked Wallets and 44% Supply Monopoly Concerns

(Source: Bubblemaps)

At the same time, the most crucial aspect of PIPPIN’s rally is happening on-chain, where significant ownership shifts are taking place. The token is undergoing a “power transfer” from early organic adopters to what appears to be a coalition of wallets controlling most of the supply.

A notable aspect of this transition is the exit of a prominent early “whale.” On December 1, blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain reported that a wallet named 2Gc2Xg (which had held the token for over a year) recently liquidated its entire 24.8 million PIPPIN holdings. This trader initially spent just 450 SOL (about $90,000 at the time) to acquire the stash, eventually exiting for $3.74 million, locking in a 4,066% gain. This represents a classic example of an early believer cashing out life-changing funds.

However, the question is—who absorbed this supply? On-chain forensics from Bubblemaps indicate the buyers were not a dispersed set of retail traders, but a highly organized entity. The analytics firm found 50 linked wallets that purchased $19 million worth of PIPPIN. These wallets displayed clear non-organic behavior, as they were funded in tight, synchronous windows from the HTX exchange, received just enough SOL to pay gas fees, and showed no prior on-chain activity.

Additionally, Bubblemaps flagged another 26 addresses that, within two months, withdrew 44% of PIPPIN’s total supply from the Gate exchange. These withdrawals, amounting to about $96 million, were concentrated on specific dates—specifically between October 24 and November 23—suggesting a deliberate strategy to remove liquidity from centralized venues and reduce circulating supply.

Combined with new aggressive speculators like wallet BxNU5a (which bought 8.2 million PIPPIN and currently holds over $1.35 million in unrealized gains), the picture becomes clear. PIPPIN’s circulating supply is rapidly consolidating, with organic holders exiting and being replaced by entities seemingly coordinating their accumulation to tighten market structure, making prices more sensitive to derivative flows.

The Valuation Paradox and Risk Warnings of a “Ghost Ship” Rally

This supply concentration creates an unstable valuation paradox. On paper, PIPPIN appears to be a unicorn, with its valuation at one point approaching its peak when its founder Yohei Nakajima first recognized the AI-generated concept. However, the token’s fundamentals remain empty. The creator has not released any new updates, there is no updated roadmap, and there are no technical developments to support its rebound to a $250 million market cap.

Thus, this rally is a “ghost ship” momentum rally—driven by market structure rather than product substance. For new whales and coordinated wallet clusters, the danger lies in exiting. While wallet BxNU5a may show $1.35 million in paper profits, actually realizing these gains in a market with shrinking spot supply is a different challenge. Moreover, if the coordinated wallets attempt to unwind their $96 million positions, a liquidity mismatch could trigger a rapid price reversal.

Ultimately, PIPPIN reflects the current state of the crypto economy—distorted by leverage and dominated by sophisticated participants capable of manipulating thinly traded assets. Its price action also shows that abnormal rallies remain possible. However, such rallies are increasingly controlled by whales and investment groups rather than ordinary traders.