Uniswap founder Hayden Adams made waves in the crypto world on October 20 by burning a staggering 99% of the HayCoin (HAY) supply, removing approximately $650 billion worth of tokens from circulation. This unprecedented move came as Adams expressed concerns over the surging price speculation surrounding HAY.
Adams initially deployed the HAY token for testing purposes five years ago, well before the launch of the decentralized Uniswap protocol.
At that time, he retained over 99.9% of the total HAY supply in his wallet. In recent weeks, the token had gained notoriety for its memecoin-like trading behavior, with prices soaring into the six-figure range.
Token burning, as initiated by Adams, permanently eliminates tokens from circulation, thereby decreasing the available supply and potentially creating inflationary effects on their value. As of the latest data, the HAY token has surged over 235% in the past 24 hours, trading at an astonishing $3,281,657, according to CoinMarketcap.
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
While Adams’ decision raised eyebrows in the crypto community, some users have raised concerns about potential tax implications. They argue that the token burning event might be considered a taxable event, given the disposal of around $650 billion worth of HAY tokens.
Adams defended his actions, stating his discomfort with owning nearly the entire supply of a token associated with speculation and memeing. He expressed his surprise at seeing substantial trading volumes surrounding HAY and ultimately decided to burn the entire wallet holdings, valuing it at an astronomical sum.
