The letters are filled with a gradient instead of a color: background-clip: text paints the background only inside the glyphs, and color: transparent lets it show. The gradient is two and a half times wider than the text, with a bright band in the middle, and animating background-position slides that band across.
The text stays real, selectable text, so it's fully readable by screen readers and search engines. Keep it for short headlines: on long paragraphs a sweeping band is distracting.
With reduced motion on, the sweep slows to once every nine seconds.