Key Takeaways
Polkadot (DOT) is facing renewed downward pressure after a 10% decline over the past seven days.
As a result, the cryptocurrency has declined toward a potentially critical region. Amid that, weakening spot ETF inflows have added to concerns about fading market demand.
Here is how all of these could affect Polkadot’s price.
The biggest issue currently weighing on DOT is the lack of institutional participation in the 21Shares Polkadot ETF ($TDOT).
For context, the ETF launched on Nasdaq in March with an initial seed allocation of $11.4 million.
As expected, several analysts initially viewed it as a major breakthrough for Polkadot’s Wall Street adoption narrative.
However, momentum quickly disappeared.
According to fund flow tracking metrics:

As a result, the ETF can now be described as a “liquidity ghost town.”
Without a strong and consistent institutional bid absorbing spot DOT supply, the network’s reduced inflation rate is not yet strong enough to offset normal retail selling pressure.
Furthermore, Polkadot’s weakness is also being amplified by the broader macro liquidity crisis currently impacting all risk assets.
As CCN reported earlier, the US 30-year Treasury yields remain elevated near 5.12%. At the same time, Japanese sovereign bond yields continue to surge to multi-decade highs.
As global bond yields rise, institutional capital is rotating away from speculative assets and back into higher-yielding government debt markets.
This process is draining liquidity from crypto markets across the board.
Unfortunately, assets with weaker institutional momentum are being hit hardest. As such, Polkadot’s price might struggle to see sustained upside.
On the daily chart, Polkadot continues to trade inside a descending triangle, with the price compressing near the critical $1.20 support zone after months of lower highs.
The structure remains bearish overall. However, the repeated defense of support suggests sellers may be losing momentum.
The key resistance to watch is the descending trendline near $1.35.
A breakout above that level could trigger a larger relief rally toward the 0.236 Fibonacci level around $2.11, followed by $2.74 if momentum strengthens.
Despite that, the Awesome Oscillator (AO) is also starting to flatten near the zero line, hinting that bearish momentum may be fading.
However, Polkadot’s price still lacks strong bullish confirmation.
Holder sentiment remains negative, indicating weak market confidence despite price stabilization.

As long as DOT stays trapped below descending resistance, the broader trend remains under pressure.
Therefore, the most important invalidation level is the horizontal support around $1.10.
A breakdown below that zone would invalidate the consolidation thesis and could open the door to another leg down.