Sonic Token Drops 15% Amid Wintermute Exit and Whale Activity

Sonic’s native token, S, is facing fresh downward pressure following the abrupt end of its five-year partnership with market-making firm Wintermute.

The split, announced on May 15, has triggered a series of large token dumps that have pushed the token’s price sharply lower.

Massive Sonic Token Dumps Ignite Market Panic

According to the Sonic ecosystem tracker Intel Scout, Wintermute offloaded 1.5 million S tokens within 24 hours of the announcement. This came shortly after the firm sold an earlier batch valued at approximately $857,000.

Intel Scout noted that the sales were unsurprising. They pointed out that the activity aligns closely with Sonic’s decision not to renew its exclusive market-making agreement with the firm after their extensive years of collaboration.

Earlier in the week, Sonic’s Head of Strategy confirmed the platform is in talks with new partners.

The executive stated that future market makers must align with the blockchain network’s broader vision of shifting towards decentralized finance (DeFi) integrations beyond centralized exchange liquidity.

Meanwhile, the situation has an interesting twist as addresses with significant S holdings were also involved in the dumping.

Intel Scout flagged that a wallet linked to FalconX—a digital asset brokerage firm—moved 2.3 million of the 3 million S tokens it recently acquired to Binance. This transaction occurred within the same 24-hour window as Wintermute’s dump.

FalconX’s Sonic Token Holdings. Source: X/Intel Scout

Similar movements by other whale wallets prompted speculation across the community.

Intel Scout questioned whether these were signs of a coordinated exit, liquidity reshuffling, or routine exchange activity. Some observers even hinted at possible price manipulation.

“The other thing I’ve noticed is similar pattern amongst other whale wallets. [Is this a] Coordinated exit? liquidity reshuffle? Regular exchange routing? Price Manipulation,” Intel Scout wondered.

There were suggestions that FalconX might be executing a sell-high, buy-low strategy.

However, Intel Scout dismissed that theory, noting that the recent sales were made at a loss, indicating no immediate profit-taking.

Sonic Token Price Performance. Source: BeInCrypto

Following all these high-profile sales, the price of the S token has dropped more than 8% in the past day and now trades around $0.50.

Over the past week, the token has lost more than 15% of its value, reflecting the market’s response to these rapid offloads.