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Key Takeaways:

Plasma’s founder denied insider selling accusations after XPL dropped over 50%, citing a three-year token lock for team and investors.
Community members and onchain analysts raised concerns about large token movements and potential TWAP selling before the launch.
Plasma also refuted any ties with Wintermute amid speculation of the firm’s involvement in the token’s decline.

Plasma’s founder Paul Faecks has denied accusations of insider selling after the project’s native token, XPL, lost more than half its value just days after launch.

The Plasma mainnet beta and XPL token went live on September 25, initially rallying to nearly $1.70 before plunging to $0.83 by October 1.

JUST IN: Plasma founder @pauliepunt says no team members have sold any $XPL tokens pic.twitter.com/cYvLNNDPyi
— BlockNews (@blocknewsdotcom) October 1, 2025

The sharp sell-off triggered speculation within the community, with some suggesting that team-controlled tokens were being sold using time-weighted average price (TWAP) strategies to reduce market impact.

Onchain analysts highlighted suspicious movements from Plasma’s vault, alleging that over 600 million XPL were transferred to exchanges ahead of the crash.

Faecks pushed back, stressing that all team and investor allocations are locked for three years with a one-year cliff, and that no sales were conducted by insiders.

We’ve seen a number of rumors circulating since the launch of XPL and want to set the record straight.

1/ No team members have sold any XPL. All investor and team XPL is locked for 3 years with a 1 year cliff.

2/ Of our team of ~50, three spent time at Blur or Blast. Our team…
— Paul (@pauliepunt) October 1, 2025

He also rejected claims that algorithmic trading firm Wintermute was involved, stating Plasma has never engaged with them.

Despite his assurances, some critics argue his wording leaves room for token categories like “ecosystem and growth” allocations to be excluded.

While doubts linger, Faecks reiterated the project’s focus on building a stablecoin-focused blockchain aimed at improving transaction speed and cost efficiency.