Key Takeaways
RUNE, the native token of the decentralized cross-chain liquidity protocol, has surged 33% in the past seven days.
This rebound contrasts with its performance between Dec. 10 and Feb. 20, when the altcoin’s price plummeted from $7.58 to $1.18.
Today, RUNE’s price has climbed to $1.56, marking a breakout from the bearish pattern it had been trapped in since last year.
However, this relief rally was not random. In this analysis, CCN reveals how increased activity on THORChain played a key role in the surge and what could be next for RUNE’s price.
DeFiLlama says THORChain’s 24-hour trading volume has exceeded $800 million. This value represents an all-time high for the protocol, which has recently encountered different controversies.
In January, RUNE’s price collapsed by 30% moments after the news of THORChain’s insolvency spread. While the protocol is actively managing its debt and working on a solution by offering equity tokens, another development appears to have fueled the surge in trading volume.
On Feb. 25, reports emerged that the Bybit Hacker employed the THORChain cross-chain swap to launder about 20% of the stolen funds. Furthermore, if the protocol’s volume rises, RUNE’s price might likely follow in the same direction.
However, other factors have contributed to RUNE’s price recovery beyond the spike in trading volume.
From a technical perspective, the daily chart shows that RUNE broke out of the descending channel after hitting a double bottom pattern. A double-bottom pattern is a bullish reversal pattern that signals a shift from a downtrend to an uptrend.
It appears after two consecutive lows at a similar price level, indicating strong support and potential recovery. As seen below, the reversal occurred when RUNE’s price hit the $1.18 support.
Furthermore, the rising ratings of the Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) and Money Flow Index (MFI), backed up the trend as they indicates increasing buying pressure.
With the MFI and CMF still above the signal lines, RUNE’s price might continue to soar.
Regarding the potential short-term targets, CCN noticed that the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) has flipped bullish. Throughout the period, RUNE’s price cratered from $7, and the MACD was negative, indicating bearish momentum.
With a reversal to the bullish side, RUNE’s price might continue to jump. In addition, the Parabolic Stop-and-Reverse (SAR) indicator, which shows whether the trend has flashed a buy or sell signal, aligns with the thesis.
When the dots of the Parabolic SAR are below the price, it represents a buy signal as there is strong support to fuel the uptrend. However, if the dots are above it, it indicates resistance.
Since it is the former, this means that RUNE’s support looks solid enough to keep the price trending upwards. If this remains the same, the altcoin’s value could hit $.2.38 in the short term.
Should buying pressure increase, the next target for the THORChain native token could be around $3.49 at the 0.618 Fibonacci level.
However, if the $1.18 support fails to hold, this forecast might rendered null and void. In that case, RUNE’s price could crash to $3.49.