Solana AI Token Ava Suffers 96% Drop After Insiders Acquire 40% of Supply

The Solana-based AI token, Ava (ticker: AVA), has seen a significant drop exceeding 96% from its peak, following revelations about the distribution of its supply at launch. An analysis by Bubblemaps indicated that a group of wallets associated with the token's deployer acquired around 40% of the total supply at its inception, raising concerns about insider trading.

Key Takeaways

AVA, the AI token on Solana, has dropped more than 96% from its all-time high.
An analysis revealed that approximately 40% of AVA's supply was initially acquired by a small group of linked wallets.
The project was marketed as community-driven, yet evidence suggests a coordinated acquisition strategy by insiders.
AVA's price has plummeted from about $0.33 to nearly $0.01, despite ongoing project development by Holoworld AI.

The Wallet Clustering Suggests Coordinated Acquisitions

An investigation by blockchain analytics company Bubblemaps revealed troubling insights regarding the wallets that accumulated AVA tokens at launch. These wallets were observed to have no prior activity and were funded right before the token's release, purchasing large quantities of AVA as soon as it went live on November 13, 2024, via Pump.fun—an open memecoin launch platform built on Solana.

Initially, AVA garnered attention as one of the first 3D AI agent tokens, back by Holoworld AI, under the Polychain Capital umbrella. By January 2025, it had reached a fully diluted valuation of around $300 million due to increased interest in AI-related cryptocurrencies.

Bubblemaps identified 23 wallets that were funded through exchanges like Binance and Bitget shortly before the token's launch. These wallets received similar amounts in SOL and employed automated trading strategies to purchase AVA, indicating possible insider coordination rather than individual buyer participation.

In the cryptocurrency space, this quick buying practice is known as "sniping." Although not inherently illegal, significant token concentration in the hands of a few early investors poses risks for sharp sell-offs whenever those holders decide to liquidate their positions.

Bubblemaps' findings indicate that despite AVA being presented as a community-centric initiative, a coordinated group controlled a significant portion of its supply, raising questions about the true nature of its launch.

AVA Faces Harsh Market Reality

More than a year post-launch, the consequences of this concentrated ownership are evident in AVA's market performance. Currently, AVA is trading at approximately $0.01, representing a drop of over 79% from its initial launch price and a staggering 96% from its peak of about $0.33 recorded on January 15, 2025, according to CoinGecko.

AVA Market Reality

Despite continuous advancements by Holoworld AI, which promotes Ava as the first virtual image token for AI agents capable of interaction and emotional responses, this development has not shielded the token from declining market value. Holoworld claims to have developed over 10,000 3D virtual characters and partnered with more than 25 intellectual property and NFT brands, attracting over one million users.

Nonetheless, a substantial drop in AVA's worth remains unavoidable. The total supply of AVA is capped at 1 billion tokens, with just 50 million released at launch during a 5% public sale. The overall distribution includes allocations for community incentives, team members, private investors, liquidity, and ecosystem development, many of which are bound to vesting schedules.

This situation aligns with a broader trend noted by Bubblemaps, which has raised alarms regarding concentrated token ownership shortly after launch across different projects. Recent analyses involving tokens like PEPE, the $WET presale on Solana, and MYX Finance’s airdrop have similarly highlighted issues of coordinated wallet behavior and significant sell pressures soon after launch.

While not all instances led to regulatory action or project collapses, they have heightened scrutiny surrounding claims of fair token launches and the importance of transparency regarding insider involvement.