DEXE has crashed almost 97% from its mid-July peak in less than a fortnight, with sizeable transfers from custody provider Ceffu to Binance prompting fresh on-chain scrutiny and questions over a possible connection to market maker DWF Labs.
On-chain analyst Ai Yi reported that DEXE (DEXE) hit an all-time high of $49.432 on 12 July, before its slide began a day later. The most dramatic fall came on 21 July, when the token slumped by as much as 88% in a single session, dropping from $46.93 to $5.648, according to the analyst’s timeline.
By 11 days after its peak, DEXE was trading at $1.56 – a 96.8% decline from its record high – amid growing focus on the movement of large token holdings through Ceffu’s infrastructure.
Ceffu flows into Binance under the microscope
In an analysis of major on-chain movements, Ai Yi found that most significant DEXE transfers originated from centralised exchange hot wallets. Ceffu was identified as the only non-exchange entity to move more than $1m worth of DEXE during the period reviewed, making its activity stand out in the data set.
Since 13 July, the crypto custody platform has sent 797,917.24 DEXE to Binance in six separate transactions, according to the analyst. At the time those on-chain transfers were made, the tokens were collectively valued at about $6.15m, though their notional value would have been much higher prior to the token’s collapse.
Ai Yi’s work centred on Ceffu’s MirrorX service, which allows institutional clients to trade on exchanges while leaving their assets in custody. Under the mechanism described by the analyst, DEXE deposited with Ceffu can be mirrored into a corresponding trading position on an exchange, with the underlying on-chain movement recorded at a later point.
Because trading activity can occur before the related transfers appear on-chain, Ai Yi argued that the six visible transactions may not reveal when the associated positions were first deployed. If the 797,917 DEXE had been set up for trading before the price began to fall on 13 July, the analyst estimated their effective value at around $39.44m at that earlier stage of the market.
No proof of who sold – or whether the tokens were sold
Ai Yi framed the sequence as a possible scenario rather than evidence that the tokens were in fact sold ahead of their on-chain settlement. The post did not identify who owned the assets, did not establish that all 797,917 DEXE were liquidated, and offered no direct proof that the transfers themselves triggered or contributed to the initial price collapse.
Questions also remain over the origin of the DEXE balance held in custody. After reviewing public information about the project, Ai Yi said there was no indication that the DEXE core team had placed tokens with Ceffu. Much of the supply linked to the project appeared, according to the analyst, to remain in the decentralised autonomous organisation’s treasury and in contracts governing team lock-ups.
Looking for other possible routes through which tokens might have reached Ceffu, Ai Yi examined DEXE’s official partner list and highlighted Falcon Finance. Falcon had supported DEXE as collateral on its platform and counted Ceffu among the institutions it used for asset custody.
The analyst also pointed to public links between Falcon Finance and DWF Labs, while DWF Labs itself appeared separately as a DEXE partner. On the basis of those relationships, Ai Yi suggested that the Ceffu-held tokens could potentially have involved DWF Labs, Falcon Finance, the DEXE project team or another market maker.
However, no information presented in the post establishes that DWF Labs, Falcon Finance, Ceffu or the DEXE team were responsible for the crash. Ai Yi described the work as an early assessment built on visible on-chain movements and publicly documented links, and stressed that other explanations for the transfers remain possible.
Neither the transfer records nor the disclosed partnerships reveal who ultimately controlled the DEXE positions represented through MirrorX. Ai Yi did not exclude the possibility that the project itself or other market makers were involved, but offered no conclusive finding on which party, if any, carried out large-scale selling.
Follows other sharp token sell-offs
DEXE’s collapse comes after two other severe token declines reported by crypto.news in recent weeks.
On 3 July, LAB fell more than 60% from a 27 June high near $20 to an intraday low of $7.50. The sell-off was driven by concerns over insider holdings, transparency around the token’s structure and liquidations in derivatives markets, prompting widespread panic selling.
Crypto.news reported that the LAB slump followed scrutiny from the project’s community after on-chain investigator ZachXBT alleged that insiders controlled more than 95% of the token’s supply. ZachXBT also raised questions about private over-the-counter deals, adjustments to vesting schedules and movements of wallets linked to insiders. Those public allegations have not been tested in court, and the LAB team has publicly disputed or declined to accept many of the claims.
Humanity Protocol’s H token experienced a similar shock on 9 June, losing more than 80% of its value after attackers drained wallets associated with the project. In that case, unlike the unresolved questions over DEXE’s large transfers, the Humanity Protocol team confirmed that a private key belonging to a Humanity Foundation member had been compromised.
Humanity Protocol runs an identity network built on a zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine, using palm biometrics and zero-knowledge proofs to verify that users are unique. The project says its approach is designed to allow identity checks without storing full personal data in large centralised databases.
