An experimental token created in 2019 by Uniswap founder Hayden Adams as one of the first coins tested on the platform has seen its value explode after Adams destroyed 99.99% of the total supply.
Keypoints
- Hayden Adams, creator of Uniswap, burned nearly all of the supply of HayCoin (HAY) tokens on October 20th.
- HayCoin was initially created by Adams in 2019 for testing before Uniswap’s launch. A tiny fraction was left in a liquidity pool.
- Recently, traders discovered the remaining HAY tokens and acquired the 4.4 tokens available on the open market.
- Prices surged to hundreds of thousands per token given the extremely limited supply.
- Adams held 99.99% of the tokens but was uncomfortable owning most of the supply, so he burned his tokens.
- This destroyed nearly all HAY tokens, leaving just the 4.4 in circulation. The price spiked to over $4 million each before settling around $3 million.
- Adams’ move sparked debate on social media, with some questioning the tax implications and whether selling them for charity would have been better.
- Nonetheless, the remaining HAY tokens now hold value as rare “digital relics” from Uniswap’s origins.
The token, aptly named HayCoin (HAY), was never meant to have real value when first launched by Adams. Only a tiny portion was placed in a liquidity pool for testing, with Adams holding most of the supply in his personal wallet.
Five years ago, before the launch of Uniswap v1, I deployed a token called HayCoin to use for testing. This was back when gas was so cheap that mainnet could be used as as a testnet. After the launch of v1, I created a small test liquidity pool with a tiny fraction of the total…
— hayden.eth ???? (@haydenzadams) October 20, 2023
Recently, eagle-eyed crypto traders noticed the forgotten token and acquired the entire tradable supply of just 4.4 HAY tokens. The extreme scarcity quickly drove prices up to hundreds of thousands of dollars per token.
With the market capitalization reaching millions of dollars, Adams became uncomfortable owning the bulk of the supply of a token attracting speculative fervor. This past weekend, he took the drastic measure of burning the 99.99% of HAY tokens held in his wallet.
This instantly made the 4.4 HAY tokens in circulation immensely more scarce and valuable as one-of-a-kind relics from Uniswap’s early days. Prices have skyrocketed over 235% after the burn, reaching highs above $4 million per HAY before settling around $3 million at press time.
Adams’ unprecedented move has sparked debate within the crypto community, with some questioning whether selling the tokens and donating the proceeds may have been more impactful.
Nonetheless, the few lucky holders of the exceptionally rare HAY tokens now own an asset that has become a prized collector’s item celebrating Uniswap’s origins. It marks the dramatic conclusion of an experimental token’s journey from worthless to priceless.
