Sahara AI’s SAHARA token experienced a sharp and unexpected decline on June 9, with the asset falling more than 55% within 24 hours. The move placed the token among the weakest performers in the crypto market on Tuesday.
At the time of writing, the price was trading close to $0.01723 after hitting a record low of $0.0132o, according to TradingView data. SAHARA also remains about 90% below its July 2025 peak of roughly $0.1605. Market value dropped to about $58.5 million.
Trading activity expanded sharply during the decline. Daily volume climbed above $300 million, a jump of more than 340% compared with the previous day. The market data does not show whether the move came from a single holder, multiple large accounts, liquidation events, or broader sell pressure across exchanges.
🚨 $SAHARA and $H just crashed 70% and 90%.
— HodlFM (@Hodl_fm) June 9, 2026
Some are claiming project-linked wallets moved tokens before the crashes, while others think hack rumors were used to make the price action look more natural.
Nothing is confirmed, but the timing looks bad. pic.twitter.com/pD4W5zQOjm
Sahara AI denies security breach and token movement
Sahara AI addressed the volatility directly on X. The team confirmed that contract systems remained intact and stated that no exploit occurred.
“There are no security issues on our token contracts or products,” Sahara AI said in its first update.
We are aware of the unusual $SAHARA market volatility that just occurred and are actively monitoring the situation in real time.
— Sahara AI 🔆 (@SaharaAI) June 9, 2026
There are no security issues on our token contracts or products. Our team has initiated an internal investigation to better understand the drivers…
The team also said it had begun an internal review and kept monitoring market conditions.
A later update rejected claims that internal wallets contributed to the sell-off.
“No team or investor tokens have been sold or moved,” the project said.
Update: Team and investor wallet allocations are fully untouched on-chain. No team or investor tokens have been sold or moved.
— Sahara AI 🔆 (@SaharaAI) June 9, 2026
The transfers being cited as the cause of today's price movement were a pre-scheduled fill of our Chainlink CCIP bridge contract to provide liquidity… https://t.co/dqbtg2xfC0
The company also responded to speculation about on-chain transfers. Sahara AI said a transfer of 600 million SAHARA tokens formed part of a planned liquidity process tied to its Chainlink CCIP cross-chain bridge. The project explained that the tokens supported liquidity between Ethereum and BNB Chain.
“The 600M SAHARA transfer was planned and the bridge is operating as designed,” the team stated.
It also confirmed that another 150 million SAHARA tokens remained scheduled for liquidity deployment.
The team said it continued to investigate market behavior and would release further updates once verified information became available.
On-chain data and liquidity explanation
On-chain records linked the transfer to a verified LockReleaseTokenPool contract deployed by the Sahara AI team. The contract supports bridge operations and aligns with the project’s explanation of liquidity provisioning.
The Etherscan data does not show direct evidence of trader behavior, liquidation events, or coordinated selling. The record also does not confirm what triggered the accelerated price movement across exchanges during the period.
Sahara AI launched its token in June 2025 after securing listings on major exchanges including Binance, Bitget, Upbit, and Bithumb. The initial launch phase delivered strong gains before a steady reversal over the following months.
Early volatility and funding backdrop
The project raised $43 million in a 2024 funding round led by Binance Labs (now YZi Labs), Pantera Capital, and Polychain Capital. The backing placed Sahara AI among well-funded AI-focused blockchain projects entering the 2025 cycle.
Despite this foundation, SAHARA has faced repeated price swings since launch. The current drop extends a pattern of volatility that has shaped the token’s trading history since its debut. Market participants keep trying to track whether unlock schedules or liquidity operations affect short-term sentiment, although no direct link has been confirmed in this case.
A planned unlock of about 1.03 billion SAHARA tokens is scheduled for June 26. No evidence currently connects that future event to the June 9 decline.
Investigation goes on as traders await clarity
Sahara AI stated that its internal review remains active and that further updates will follow once conclusions become clear. The project maintains that infrastructure and token contracts remain secure.
The cause of the sell-off remains unresolved. Market data shows high volatility, but no confirmed trigger has been identified. Traders continue to monitor on-chain flows and exchange activity for additional signals while the investigation progresses.
Roman Zaika
Disclaimer: All materials on this site are for informational purposes only. None of the material should be interpreted as investment advice. Please note that, despite the nature of much of the material created and hosted on this website, HODL FM operates as a media and informational platform, not a provider of financial advisory services. The opinions of authors and other contributors are their own and should not be taken as financial advice. If you require advice, HODL FM strongly recommends contacting a qualified industry professional.
