Tutorial (TUT), a token built on BNB Chain, surged more than 1,100% over two days after Aster DEX listed TUT perpetuals with 5x leverage on August 6. The initial listing alone triggered a 52-62% price jump and a short squeeze, before the rally kept accelerating to a peak of $0.2903 on August 9.
The move generated an outsized amount of leveraged trading activity. According to DailyCoin's report, TUT recorded more than $42 million in liquidations over a 24-hour span, surpassing both bitcoin and ethereum to become the single most-liquidated crypto asset during that period, according to CoinGlass data — a striking outcome for a token with a market capitalization of only around $140.5 million at the time.
Volume That Dwarfed the Market Cap
The scale of the trading activity relative to TUT's actual size is what made the move stand out. The token recorded $3.34 billion in 24-hour futures volume — more than 23 times its market capitalization — a ratio that signals the rally was driven almost entirely by leveraged derivatives trading rather than organic spot demand. On-chain activity around the surge included at least one trader who deposited $240,000 into Aster and opened a 2x long position worth roughly $165,000 on nearly a million TUT tokens within an eight-hour window.
The Reversal Came Just as Fast
Rallies built this heavily on leverage tend to unwind quickly once momentum stalls, and TUT was no exception. The token has since reversed sharply and was trading roughly 42% below its August 9 peak, as leveraged long positions that had ridden the rally up became increasingly vulnerable to liquidation once the price started falling — the same dynamic that fueled the initial short squeeze now working in reverse against late longs.
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The episode is a reminder of how quickly leverage can distort price discovery for smaller-cap tokens once a derivatives venue lists high-leverage perpetuals — a single exchange listing turned a $140 million token into the most liquidated asset in the entire crypto market for a full day, ahead of bitcoin and ethereum combined.
Whether TUT stabilizes near its post-crash levels or continues unwinding further will likely depend on how much leveraged interest remains in the token now that the initial listing-driven squeeze has largely played out.
