The 1INCH token experienced a sharp intraday decline of 15-17% on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, dropping from approximately $0.14 to a range of $0.115–$0.118. This significant price movement was closely tied to on-chain data revealing large-scale distribution by vested token holders.
Blockchain analysis from Arkham identified multiple wallets executing substantial 1INCH → USDC swaps through the CoW Protocol. The transactions, executed in several tranches to manage slippage, totaled approximately 36.36 million 1INCH tokens, worth around $5 million at prevailing prices. Historical data indicates these tokens originated from 1inch vesting contracts one to two years prior, suggesting the sellers were early investors or contributors.
The selling pressure exacerbated an already fragile market structure. Analyst EmberCN highlighted that liquidity in the altcoin market has seriously deteriorated. For 1INCH specifically, the 24-hour trading volume for the 1INCH/USDT pair on Binance was only $1.5 million, with actual liquidity estimated at a mere $340,000 after accounting for arbitrage bot activity. A single sell order exceeding $2 million was enough to trigger a 7% drop earlier in the day.
Market data from CoinMarketCap shows 1INCH's 24-hour trading volume surged over 370% to $62.2 million during the event, pushing its volume-to-market-cap ratio above 36%—a level indicative of forced repricing. The sold tokens represented about 2.6% of the circulating supply of 1.41 billion 1INCH and roughly 8% of the daily trading volume.
