SAHARA token crashes 55% as team denies 600M dump, cites Chainlink CCIP
SAHARA fell about 55% on June 9 after a sudden sell-off pushed the price near its historical low. The token traded around $0.01718, with a 24-hour range from $0.01452 to $0.03957. Volume jumped above $300 million (+340% day-on-day), intensifying concerns about liquidity pressure.
Sahara AI launched an internal investigation and rejected claims of insider or investor selling. It said there were no security issues in SAHARA’s token contracts or products and that no team or investor tokens were moved on-chain. The project addressed allegations tied to a 600 million SAHARA transfer, saying the amount was a planned deposit into its Chainlink CCIP bridge contract to fund cross-chain liquidity between Ethereum and BNB Chain, with an additional 150 million SAHARA still scheduled for bridge liquidity.
On-chain checks referenced a verified LockReleaseTokenPool contract, but the record does not prove what triggered traders’ selling. Traders are also watching broader risks: SAHARA remains deeply down versus its July 2025 peak and market data flags an about 1.03 billion SAHARA unlock on June 26. Until confirmed by the investigation outcomes, the next catalyst remains unclear for SAHARA.
Bearish
The immediate driver is a sharp SAHARA price collapse alongside unusually high volume, which typically signals aggressive selling and short-term downside pressure. Although the team’s CCIP bridge explanation and the denial of token moves reduce the chance of confirmed insider dumping, the on-chain evidence cited cannot prove what caused the sell pressure. That uncertainty keeps traders cautious.
In the short term, any negative price momentum in SAHARA can attract more defensive selling and limit dip-buying until the investigation updates. In the long term, the flagged upcoming ~1.03B SAHARA unlock on June 26 is another potential supply overhang. With multiple bearish references (recent exchange listing drops, deep drawdown from the peak, and liquidity/unlock uncertainty), the net effect for SAHARA is more likely bearish than neutral, unless follow-up findings definitively clarify liquidity drivers or reduce expected supply impact.