ESP reached an all-time high of $0.22 on Feb. 24, but is trading 20% below that peak.
The drop in volume, along with other factors, contributed to the recent price decline.
Despite that, the Espresso token price has formed a bull flag on the 4-hour chart.
ESPRESSO (ESP) just delivered one of the most explosive rallies of 2026.
Over the last seven days, the native token of the Ethereum rollup infrastructure surged 156%, rocketing from $0.080 to an all-time high (ATH) of $0.22.
Trading volume exploded 230% to $514 million as buyers flooded in during the Asian session.
Then came the retrace. Within the last 24 hours, ESP’s price pulled back 20% and is now trading around $0.17.
The question every trader is asking: Is this a healthy profit-taking pullback or the beginning of an extended correction?
Let’s find out.
Espresso Rally Did Not Come Out of Nowhere
ESPRESSO’s surge wasn’t random. It was the culmination of a 156% seven-day rally that started from rock bottom.
Just nine days earlier, on Feb. 15, Espresso’s price hit an all-time low of $0.052. This represented a brutal 40% crash from its launch price.
Holders were underwater. Sentiment was broken. Interestingly, this happened despite Binance listing.
Then everything reversed. Espresso’s price climbed from $0.050 to $0.22 in just over a week, gaining 255% from the low.
On Feb. 24, the token posted an 80% gain during Asian trading hours, pushing it to a new ATH.
According to CCN’s findings, the breakout happened because Upbit and Bithumb listed the altcoin.
The volume surge tells the story. 24-hour trading volume reached $514 million on the same days.
However, as of this writing, the ESP volume has dropped below $330 million. Since Espresso’s price has also declined, the rally could be taking a breather.
ESP Volume | Credit: Santiment
Hence, the altcoin could experience lower lows before another surge.
Why the 20% ESP Retrace Was Inevitable
After a 156% gain, ESP’s price has dropped by 20%.
As it stands, traders who bought at $0.08-$0.12 appear to be sitting on 50-100% gains and rushing to lock in profits before the pump stalls.
Furthermore, Espresso’s tokenomics created structural selling pressure. The project launched with a 10% fully unlocked airdrop (359 million tokens distributed immediately to holders).
This instant liquidity created a wave of sellers, many of whom claimed the airdrop for free and had no on-chain cost basis to defend.
Additionally, early investors from the Kaito Launchpad sale at a $400 million valuation in July 2025 are nursing 31% losses at current prices.
These underwater holders likely sold into strength as ESP approached their entry points, adding resistance around $0.20.
ESP Price Analysis
Looking at the technical picture, Espresso’s price is setting up for another leg higher.
As ESP/USD trades at $0.17 and consolidates inside a tbull flag following one of the sharpest flagpoles on any chart this week.
Furthermore, the price was $0.10 on Feb 23, before surging to a high of $0.22. However, it has pulled back to form the flag while holding above the 0.618 Fib at $0.16.
The Parabolic SAR dots sit below the price at $0.15, flipped bullish, and tracking the rally. However, Espresso’s price has not closed below the indicator
In addition, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) tells a nuanced story.
The 14-period RSI reads 68.79, just below the overbought threshold, while the signal line sits at 72.16, forming a slight bearish cross on the RSI itself.
Disclaimer:
The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be, nor should it be construed as, financial advice. We do not make any warranties regarding the completeness, reliability, or accuracy of this information. All investments involve risk, and past performance does not guarantee future results. We recommend consulting a financial advisor before making any investment decisions.
Victor Olanrewaju is a crypto analyst and reporter at CCN with deep roots in on-chain research and technical analysis. His crypto journey began in 2017, but it was the 2020 Uniswap airdrop that sparked a full-time pivot into the space.
With a foundation in copywriting, Victor honed his craft creating high-converting content for leading crypto brokers — most notably an XRP price prediction that ranked #1 on Google during the 2021 bull run.
He later joined AMBCrypto in 2022, where he combined storytelling with technical and on-chain analysis to cover key market narratives.
In 2024, he expanded his expertise at BeInCrypto, collaborating with analysts and using tools like Glassnode, Santiment, and IntoTheBlock to break down Bitcoin and altcoin trends.
At CCN, Victor covers the top cryptocurrencies, memecoins, macro shifts, blending real-time insights with deep-dive metrics.
He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from the University of Ibadan, equipping him to simplify complex data for a wide audience. Follow his work or connect on LinkedIn or X.
