PYTH down 12% days after Backpack airdrop, per CoinGecko

PYTH, the native token of the decentralized finance oracle Pyth Network, is down 12% in the last 24 hours.

According to data from cryptocurrency price aggregator CoinGecko, PYTH is currently changing hands at $0.477896, which is 12% lower than its level from the previous day.

Additionally, the current price is nearly 13% lower than its all-time high of $0.548655 attained on Nov. 24 but more than 70% higher than its all-time low level from Nov. 21.

The token, barely a week old, started life following Nov. 20 airdrops by the Pyth Network and crypto exchange startup Backpack. 

Backpack, which is backed by funds from FTX’s venture arm, distributed 250 million tokens, then valued at about $77 million to Pyth NFT holders and the Pyth Discord community administrators across 27 blockchains.

Following the airdrop, PYTH’s market capitalization soared to $765 million, with CoinMarketCap data showing the token was priced at $.053.

Soon after, the price dropped to $0.28 before settling at the $0.32 level, giving it a market valuation of $468 million. At that time, the daily trading volume of the token reached $107 million.

The token currently has a market capitalization of more than $719 million, with a 24-hour trading volume of $132.5 million. Of the total 10 billion tokens, about 1.5 billion are in circulation, with airdrop recipients expected to claim their tokens by Feb. 18, 2024.

Pyth Network ranks fourth in total value secured, while its token stands at #75 on CoinGecko’s market cap ranking.