- A Cardano whale lost over $6M after swapping 14.4M ADA in a thin liquidity pool, showing how big trades can crash stablecoin prices fast.
- The USDA price spiked to $1.26 then fell to $1.04, highlighting how small markets and low volumes can distort stablecoin values quickly.
- The Paxos minting error in October showed similar risks, proving that technical slip-ups can shock markets and force emergency trading halts.
A sudden mistake by a long-silent Cardano wallet on November 16 created urgency across the crypto market. A dormant holder swapped 14.4 million ADA in a low-liquidity pool and lost more than $6 million within seconds. The swap happened on a Cardano pool with thin activity, and it pushed a lesser-known stablecoin far above its usual price.
The incident happened on-chain, and investigators quickly traced the transaction. ZachXBT, a well-known blockchain investigator, reported the case first after noticing the sudden ADA movement. His update showed how the wallet moved from five years of silence into a costly mistake.
Besides this sudden shock, data showed that the wallet used the pool to exchange the large ADA sum for only 847,695 USDA. The holder triggered this outcome because the pool lacked enough liquidity. Consequently, the swap produced a massive price impact.
Additionally, the user performed a small test trade only 33 seconds earlier. The wallet last showed activity in 2020. Hence, analysts believe the trader might have returned without checking market depth.
Low Liquidity and Sudden Price Spikes
Moreover, CoinGecko data revealed that the swap pushed USDA toward $1.26 before the price fell back to $1.04. Sources noted that the user held no USDA before the incident. Analysts raised questions about the trader’s intent because USDA has a $10.6 million market cap. Besides that, this incident revived concerns about DeFi liquidity on Cardano. Community voices warned that large orders can distort stablecoin pricing.
Cardano YOD₳ expressed concern and said, “Cardano whale swapped 14.4M ADA for 847K USDA and lost $6.05M due to low liquidity.” He added a deeper warning about the chain’s pace. “We need to think about why we are so slow in decision-making and execution.”
Similar Errors Raise Industry Concerns
However, this case did not stand alone. A similar incident happened in October involving Paxos. The firm minted 300 trillion PYUSD by accident and burned it 22 minutes later. The event shocked on-chain watchers because the mint appeared huge. Omer Goldberg responded and said Aave would halt PYUSD trading to protect users. Paxos later clarified that the mistake came from an internal process.
