$MET has an event catalyst, but for now I’m still inclined to wait and see. After reading Binance’s announcement for this 400 BNB trading tournament, the key question is whether the rewarded trading volume has actually translated into stronger price support. The latest spot data presents a notable contrast worth watching: trading volume suddenly surged, but the close failed to follow.
The official announcement states that the event runs from 18:00 on October 8 to 18:00 on October 15, Beijing time, and the designated trading pair is MET/USDC spot; eligible buys and sells both count toward trading volume. The main prize pool is 320 BNB, plus two limited-time pools of 40 BNB each, for a total of 400 BNB in token vouchers. The $500 threshold is a cumulative trading requirement, not a profit requirement, and it does not guarantee any particular reward. The first limited-time round’s volume is counted through 18:00 on October 10. The event rewards turnover, so its buzz cannot be directly interpreted as net buying, much less as revenue for the Meteora protocol.
Unlike last night’s follow-up on futures, this time I’m looking first at the spot market actually specified for the event. At 12:13 on October 9, MET/USDC was around 0.4277, down 8.26% over the rolling 24 hours, with about 118.6 million USDC in volume. The full hour from 10:00 to 11:00 saw about 36.96 million in volume and closed at 0.4435; from 11:00 to 12:00, volume rose 76.55% to about 65.25 million, but the close fell to 0.4381, 1.22% below the previous hour. The intraday high of 0.4517 did not hold into the close. High volume alongside weaker price progress is a signal that current support still needs to be tested; it does not justify concluding that any particular person is selling.
Across the full four-hour window from 08:00 to 12:00, volume was about 104.4 million USDC. The price opened at 0.4420 and closed at 0.4381, down 0.88%. This shows that recent trading volume has surged, but there has not yet been confirmation of a four-hour uptrend. The competition may indeed affect trading behavior, but the fact that these things are happening at the same time does not prove that all this trading was caused by the competition, nor does it justify accusing normal active trading of being wash trading.
As a secondary indicator, futures open interest rose from about 29.32 million to 30.22 million MET between 10:00 and 12:00, an increase of 3.09%; the actual funding rate at 12:00 was −0.022505%, less negative than the −0.033987% at 08:00. The easing of negative funding alongside a short-term increase in open interest is still not enough to confirm a short squeeze or a bottom, and OI is not the same as net capital inflow. The latest monthly report available on the project’s official IR page is still the August report, published on September 15; this trading event does not mean the protocol’s business has suddenly improved.
Next, I’ll first watch whether spot can reclaim the recent hourly low of 0.4344, then whether it can close a full hour back above 0.4435 and hold on a retest. A break above 0.4517 accompanied by sustained volume would make the recovery more convincing. If a subsequent close breaks below the 08:00–12:00 low of 0.4264 and fails to reclaim it, weakness will be further confirmed. These are reference levels for MET/USDC and should not be mechanically applied to USDT futures. My view: there is a catalyst, but evidence of support is still lacking. Before chasing volume for the prize pool, it is more important to account for price retracement, fees, and slippage.
The official announcement states that the event runs from 18:00 on October 8 to 18:00 on October 15, Beijing time, and the designated trading pair is MET/USDC spot; eligible buys and sells both count toward trading volume. The main prize pool is 320 BNB, plus two limited-time pools of 40 BNB each, for a total of 400 BNB in token vouchers. The $500 threshold is a cumulative trading requirement, not a profit requirement, and it does not guarantee any particular reward. The first limited-time round’s volume is counted through 18:00 on October 10. The event rewards turnover, so its buzz cannot be directly interpreted as net buying, much less as revenue for the Meteora protocol.
Unlike last night’s follow-up on futures, this time I’m looking first at the spot market actually specified for the event. At 12:13 on October 9, MET/USDC was around 0.4277, down 8.26% over the rolling 24 hours, with about 118.6 million USDC in volume. The full hour from 10:00 to 11:00 saw about 36.96 million in volume and closed at 0.4435; from 11:00 to 12:00, volume rose 76.55% to about 65.25 million, but the close fell to 0.4381, 1.22% below the previous hour. The intraday high of 0.4517 did not hold into the close. High volume alongside weaker price progress is a signal that current support still needs to be tested; it does not justify concluding that any particular person is selling.
Across the full four-hour window from 08:00 to 12:00, volume was about 104.4 million USDC. The price opened at 0.4420 and closed at 0.4381, down 0.88%. This shows that recent trading volume has surged, but there has not yet been confirmation of a four-hour uptrend. The competition may indeed affect trading behavior, but the fact that these things are happening at the same time does not prove that all this trading was caused by the competition, nor does it justify accusing normal active trading of being wash trading.
As a secondary indicator, futures open interest rose from about 29.32 million to 30.22 million MET between 10:00 and 12:00, an increase of 3.09%; the actual funding rate at 12:00 was −0.022505%, less negative than the −0.033987% at 08:00. The easing of negative funding alongside a short-term increase in open interest is still not enough to confirm a short squeeze or a bottom, and OI is not the same as net capital inflow. The latest monthly report available on the project’s official IR page is still the August report, published on September 15; this trading event does not mean the protocol’s business has suddenly improved.
Next, I’ll first watch whether spot can reclaim the recent hourly low of 0.4344, then whether it can close a full hour back above 0.4435 and hold on a retest. A break above 0.4517 accompanied by sustained volume would make the recovery more convincing. If a subsequent close breaks below the 08:00–12:00 low of 0.4264 and fails to reclaim it, weakness will be further confirmed. These are reference levels for MET/USDC and should not be mechanically applied to USDT futures. My view: there is a catalyst, but evidence of support is still lacking. Before chasing volume for the prize pool, it is more important to account for price retracement, fees, and slippage.