Orca (ORCA) holds a near 170% rally after Upbit listing

Orca (ORCA) lined up among the day’s trending tokens, with a near 170% rally to a peak above $4.53. The increased activity follows an Upbit listing, which boosted trades on Binance as well. 

Orca (ORCA) turned into one of the day’s biggest gainers after an Upbit listing. The asset bounced from its lows with a vertical rally, trading above $4.50. Trading volumes reached a three-month high at above $653M in the past day, after a long period of relative stagnation. 

The Upbit listing was noticed based on on-chain activity, causing the rally slightly ahead of the official listing announcement. ORCA gained a BTC, KRW and USDT markets, sending a strong pump signal to the markets. 

A listing on a South Korean exchange often causes rallies for crypto assets, spilling over to other markets. ORCA traded at a premium on some exchanges, ranging between $4.02 and $4.12.

ORCA rallied despite the listing, which came as both the DEX volumes and overall Solana usage decreased. South Korean exchanges remain relatively conservative, only listing tokens after they have established some liquidity, and often list tokens already on the decline. 

This time around, ORCA got a new energy boost, showing altcoins and tokens still had energy for rallies. Most of the activity was not yet coming from Upbit, but from the asset’s Binance pair. The Upbit listing caused an immediate hike as high as $5, reflecting the KRW premium. 

ORCA managed to return to price levels not seen since January 20, when the DEX was picked to trade some of the hottest meme tokens. The Orca DEX came to the forefront after it became the top market for Official Trump (TRUMP) and Melania (MELANIA) tokens. The exchange was chosen for its usage of USDC, which boosted Solana’s activity. 

ORCA rally caused liquidation chaos

The ORCA rally after a period of sideways trading around $2 caused market chaos and panic. ORCA went through a peak of $2.91M in total liquidations, predominantly affecting short traders that bet on the ongoing bearish trend. 

The recent rally was also immediately aggressively shorted again at the top, expecting the price to go back to baseline levels. At the same time, traders that held ORCA longer used the rally to sell into any new buyers ready to re-buy the asset. The immediate reaction to the listing also caused speculation of insider knowledge. 

Soon after the peak of the rally, ORCA started to crash again. The asset peaked at $5.06, as traders moved into new short positions. After that, the asset sank again to $3.85 within hours of its vertical pump. 

Open interest for ORCA immediately expanded as traders reset their positions. Contracts moved up from just $2.87M to over $55M, with around 60% in short positions and 40% in long positions. 

ORCA saw a negative funding rate, signaling outflows for short sellers. The volatile trading, however, caused liquidations in both directions. Most of the pump’s effect was felt during Asian and European trading hours, with potential additional effects from US-based traders. 

ORCA saw $100M in outflows after the end of the meme frenzy

Liquidity on the Orca DEX decreased from a peak of over $365M down to $250M. Since January 20, Orca saw an outflow of liquidity, as the most active meme tokens lost their appeal. 

The Orca DEX now carries around $310M in daily trades, with around $149K in daily fees. During peak times, Orca brought in up to $9.89M in fees, lining up among the top 10 most lucrative apps. 

The DEX also saw an outflow of new open positions, after peaking in late 2024. The DEX lost some of its liquidity providers, so the current rally does not reflect activity growth.

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