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Trader nets $1.5 million exploiting Binance buy wall glitch
A cryptocurrency trader capitalized on a bizarre market event on Binance in the early hours of January 1, 2026, pocketing roughly $1.5 million by trading around a mysterious $26 million buy wall for the low-liquidity token BROCCOLI714. The token surged over 1,200% before crashing 88%, sparking debate over exchange security protocols and automated trading systems during holiday periods.
Vida, founder of Equation News, spotted the anomaly at 4 a.m. Beijing time via automated alerts set for price swings exceeding 30% in 30 minutes. On-chain analysis firm Lookonchain indicated the odd activity stemmed from a possibly compromised market maker account attempting to shift funds through coordinated self-trading. "From that point, I realized it had to be either a hacked account or a bug in the market making program, because no whale would be dumb enough to give away money like that," Vida wrote in a detailed X post.
Vida's gains unfolded across three trading phases. Starting with a $500,000 funding rate arbitrage position, he closed the hedge as the spot value hit $800,000, locking in $300,000 right away. Spotting the artificial buy pressure, he then entered about $200,000 in long positions at $0.046, timing buys during brief windows when Binance circuit breakers reset.
Binance's spot order book showed nearly $26 million in buy orders for a token with just $40 million market cap, while futures market depth sat at only $50,000. At 4:31 a.m., as the buy wall vanished likely due to exchange intervention Vida exited all longs and flipped to a $400,000 short at $0.065, profiting further as BROCCOLI714 plunged to $0.02.
Binance issued a statement on January 1 confirming an internal probe into BROCCOLI714's price volatility. "Based on current review of internal data, no clear signs of a hacking attack have been found, and the platform has received no reports of account theft via customer service or major client communication channels," the exchange noted. It stressed that risk controls and circuit breakers operated normally throughout.
The incident underscores risks in automated market making during low-staffed holiday times, with New Year's timing possibly delaying detection. BROCCOLI714 has since stabilized near pre-surge levels around $0.018.