HBAR, the primary asset of
Hedera
Hashgraph, has slipped beneath the crucial $0.1600 support, sparking fears of a potential 20% drop as bearish momentum prevails despite recent DeFi progress. As of this writing, HBAR has declined by 4%, with derivatives metrics
showing a significant reduction in futures open interest
and funding rates turning negative. This shift highlights decreasing enthusiasm among traders, as
futures open interest fell 5.96% within a day
to $121.31 million, indicating less leverage and more closed positions. At the same time,
the OI-weighted funding rate turned negative at -0.0079%
, meaning short sellers are now paying extra to keep their positions open.
This wave of selling stands in contrast to growing institutional interest in Hedera, as
the Canary HBAR ETF saw $5.37 million in net inflows
on Thursday, marking the first positive inflow in five days. This development came alongside
the launch of Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC)
on Hedera’s blockchain, a partnership with BitGo and
LayerZero
aimed at boosting liquidity.
WBTC
, which is a tokenized form of
Bitcoin
on the
Ethereum
network, is intended to broaden Hedera’s DeFi offerings by enabling BTC-based services. Yet, retail interest remains subdued, with
HBAR falling 10% over the week after breaching
a significant resistance trendline connecting the highs of July 27 and September 18.
From a technical standpoint, the outlook for
HBAR
appears to be worsening. The token is now trading within a downward channel, with
trading volume surging 94% above its average
during a distribution event on Nov. 16 that involved 168.9 million tokens. A further 2.2% decrease to $0.1472 has reinforced the bearish trend, with $0.1457 now acting as
a vital support zone
.
Experts caution
that a break below this level could hasten the anticipated 20% correction, while any recovery would face immediate resistance at $0.1488.
The wider cryptocurrency market has echoed HBAR’s difficulties, with
total market value dropping under $3.26 trillion
— a 24% slide from the highs seen on October 7. Bitcoin (BTC) has continued its decline below the key $100,000 psychological level,
intensifying the risk-averse mood
. Hedera’s possible 20% drop is in line with the broader bearish trend in crypto,
which has wiped out $1 trillion in market capitalization
since October.
Although the addition of WBTC marks a strategic shift for Hedera, the immediate priority is to steady price movement amid weakening technical signals and declining market confidence. While institutional investments and DeFi developments could help counterbalance the negativity, bearish forces currently dominate, making this a crucial period for the token.
