What happens
Irys is a Layer 1 datachain. It puts data storage and smart contract execution on the same network, with its own EVM layer called IrysVM.
On October 23, IRYS went from about $0.028 to a record $0.296 at 19:24 UTC. That is more than ten times in less than a day.
Then it fell just as hard. At 06:30 UTC on October 24, IRYS trades near $0.0855, about 71% below that top.
The move looks like a short squeeze. Traders who bet against IRYS were forced to buy back, and every forced buy pushed price higher. Posts on X put the liquidated shorts at about $21M.
No clear catalyst was found behind the move.
The numbers
Price: about $0.0855, still up about 206% in 24 hours and 555% in 7 days.
Record: $0.296 on October 23 at 19:24 UTC.
Volume: $1.69B traded in the 24 hours to 05:10 UTC, on a market cap near $185M at the time. That is about 9 times the whole coin changing hands in one day.
Market cap now: about $171M.
Supply: only 2B of 10B tokens circulate. The fully diluted value sits near $856M, about 5 times the market cap.
Market: the whole crypto market is down about 3.9% in 24 hours.
What I'm watching
Volume. If daily volume keeps falling from the $1.69B peak, the squeeze fuel is gone.
Supply. 80% of the tokens are not circulating yet. Any unlock schedule matters a lot at this valuation.
Real usage. A squeeze moves price, not adoption. Storage and IrysVM activity will tell if there is more behind the ticker.
Squeezes end when the shorts run out.
NFA.
Sources: 📖
