- Mark Cuban appears to be dumping his MATIC holdings.
- The billionaire had invested in Polygon Labs in 2021.
- Cuban’s move comes as MATIC has underperformed the broader crypto market in 2023.
MATIC, the native token of the Polygon PoS chain , looks set to end 2023 with a bang. Following a spike in whale activity over the past week, the asset’s price has shown strength reminiscent of rallies recorded in early November and December 2023 as bulls once again eye the $1 mark.
However, amidst this optimism, a recent move from American billionaire Mark Cuban suggests not all investors are confident in MATIC’s long-term potential, with the renowned investor seemingly cutting his losses on a 2021 investment.
Mark Cuban Sends Polygon (MATIC) Stake to Coinbase
Before shedding gains to trade at around $0.87 at the time of writing, MATIC had traded as high as $0.92 in the past 24 hours as part of a week-long rally that saw the asset print double-digit percentage gains. Amid this rally, crypto on-chain tracker Spot on Chain highlighted that Mark Cuban had sent 2.8 million MATIC (worth approximately $2.56 million) to Coinbase , a move typically indicative of an investor’s desire to sell.
As highlighted by Spot on Chain, the sum comes from 2.5 million MATIC, which Cuban received from the Polygon Ecosystem Growth Fund in May 2021, likely in return for his undisclosed investment in Polygon Labs . The recent exchange deposit suggests a willingness to sell his stake at a loss and a lack of faith in the long-term prospects of the asset. At the time, the received tokens were worth about $4.25 million, with Cuban staking them to earn more.
Following the deposit to Coinbase, analysis of the billionaire’s three known crypto wallets on Spot on Chain and Arkham Intelligence shows that he only has about $50 worth of MATIC left.
Cuban’s Coinbase deposit comes amid MATIC’s inability to match up the strong price performances of its peers in 2023.
MATIC’s 2023 Price Struggles
At the time of writing, MATIC is up over 14% year-to-date (YTD). While MATIC’s 2023 gains would be considered decent or impressive in traditional finance spaces, the asset’s price action has been largely muted compared to other major crypto assets. For context, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana are up over 150%, 90%, and 1,000% YTD, respectively.
Polygon’s underperformance in the broader crypto market comes despite significant advances made by the project’s development team in zero-knowledge technology. In 2023, the team launched the Polygon zkEVM , a zero-knowledge-powered Ethereum Layer 2 , and the Chain Development Kit (CDK) , a stack to allow projects and businesses to easily spin out customized Layer 2 chains interconnected with the Polygon and Ethereum ecosystem.
On the Flipside
- Santiment recently noted that the low percentage of MATIC holders in profit presented greater upside potential than Bitcoin, which now has over 80% holders in profit.
- Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal recently expressed the belief that MATIC will make a strong comeback.
- The complete transition of MATIC to POL could see the asset garner renewed interest.
Why This Matters
Mark Cuban’s decision to potentially dump his MATIC holdings highlights the growing frustration of investors amidst the asset’s lackluster price movements.
