Irys (IRYS) suffered a sharp price collapse after a rapid rally pushed the cryptocurrency to new highs. The reversal erased much of its recent gains within hours.
Heavy trading activity and leveraged positions accompanied the extreme volatility. Meanwhile, the sudden decline raised questions about the sustainability of the token’s earlier surge.
IRYS price plunges 74% after reaching a new high
IRYS price peaked at 0.32757 USDT on Bitget during the 19:00 UTC hour on October 23. By 05:49 UTC on October 24, the token traded at 0.08631 USDT, marking a 74% decline.
The peak hourly candle closed at 0.11138 USDT before the following hour recorded a low of 0.06106 USDT. That low represented an approximately 81% decline from the peak.
CoinGecko recorded an all-time high of $0.296 at 19:24 UTC before IRYS retreated to $0.0863 Saturday morning. At its peak, the circulating supply of 2 billion tokens carried an estimated valuation of $592 million.
IRYS price over 24 hours on CoinGecko, from the October 23 run through the slide into October 24.
Following the decline, IRYS market capitalization stood near $174 million. Approximately 20% of its total 10 billion token supply remained in circulation.
Upbit’s Korean won trading pair experienced similar volatility. IRYS climbed from its 52-week low of 16.3 won on October 18 to 450 won on October 23.
By early Saturday, the token traded near 116 won. The exchange recorded approximately 954 billion won in trading volume over 24 hours.
IRYS records 1,208% rally before sharp reversal
IRYS opened October 23 at 0.02058 USDT on Bitget before accelerating throughout the session. Between 15:00 and 17:00 UTC, the token surged from approximately 0.044 USDT to 0.14 USDT.
By 3:21 p.m. ET, IRYS had gained approximately 1,208% over 24 hours, reaching $0.2806. Its seven-day advance approached 2,083%, lifting its circulating market valuation toward $561 million.
The rally also pushed IRYS above its previous May listing high of 0.08985 USDT on Bitget. Upbit had introduced IRYS trading against Korean won, Bitcoin, and USDT on May 15.
Despite the subsequent decline, Bitget recorded a rolling 24-hour gain of approximately 212% early Saturday. Its IRYS/USDT trading pair generated roughly 57.9 million USDT in turnover.
Irys combines blockchain data storage with smart contract execution. The IRYS token supports network validation through staking and covers storage and execution fees.
IRYS short liquidations reach $21.4 million
The rapid price increase triggered substantial liquidations across leveraged trading positions. Total liquidations reached approximately $24.2 million over 24 hours.
Short positions accounted for $21.4 million, while long positions contributed approximately $2.8 million. Forced short liquidations require traders to repurchase tokens, potentially accelerating upward price movements.
Meanwhile, outstanding IRYS futures positions reached approximately $1.22 billion. Rising token prices also contributed to the elevated dollar value of open positions.
No confirmed catalyst explained either the extraordinary rally or the subsequent collapse.
Irys tokenomics restrict team and investor allocations during the first year. The project initially releases approximately 20% of its total supply into circulation.
The volatility followed another speculative token collapse on October 22. A Pump.fun token promoted through trader Clayton Kim’s Kimchi account briefly reached a $15 million market capitalization.
However, the token subsequently lost more than 98% after the promotional post disappeared approximately 30 minutes later.
Upbit’s Korean won market led IRYS trading activity during the rally. Separately, Korean traders have pursued offshore leveraged products, including KospI-Linked instruments offering exposure of up to 150 times.
